ROBINSON 
CRUSOE 

Illustrated  by  N.C.WYETH 


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ROBINSON  CRUSOE 


©   C.   B.   C. 


"  For  a  mile,  or  thereabouts,  my  raft  ivent  very  well- 


PHILADELPHIA 

DAVID   McKAY   COMPANY 

WASHINGTON   SQUARE 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/robinsoncrusoedefo 


ILLUSTRATOR'S  PREFACE 

THE  universal  fame  of  The  Life  and  Adventures  of  Rob- 
inson Crusoe  is  second  only  to  the  Bible.  Notwithstand- 
ing its  simple  narrative  style,  as  well  as  the  absence  of  the 
supposedly  indispensable  love  motive,  no  modern  book  can 
boast  of  such  world-wide  esteem. 

Written  by  Daniel  Defoe  and  published  in  England  in 
1719  by  William  Taylor,  the  Life  and  Adventures  won  imme- 
diate popularity.  Its  phenomenal  success  called  forth  five  re- 
printings  in  rapid  succession.  In  the  following  year  came 
translations  into  French,  German  and  Dutch,  marking  the 
beginning  of  an  unprecedented  series  of  translations  into  many 
other  languages  and  dialects. 

And  now,  after  two  centuries,  the  story  still  stands  secure 
and  enduring — a  monumental  human  document. 

Hundreds  of  illustrated  editions  of  The  Life  and  Adven- 
tures of  Robinson  Crusoe  have  been  published,  and  many 
more  will  follow,  but  I,  like  most  illustrators  enthusiastic  in 
their  work,  have  anticipated  for  years  the  opportunity  which 
is  now  offered  to  me  in  the  present  edition. 

The  outstanding  appeal  of  this  fascinating  romance  to  me 
personally  is  the  remarkably  sustained  sensation  one  enjoys 
of  Crusoe's  contact  with  the  elements — the  sea  and  the 
sun,  the  night  and  the  storms,  the  sand,  rocks,  vegetation 
and  animal  life.  In  few  books  can  the  reader  breathe,  live 
and  move  with  his  hero  so  intensely,  so  easily  and  so  consis- 
tently throughout  the  narrative.  In  Robinson  Crusoe  we 
have  it;  here  is  a  story  that  becomes  history,  history  living 
and    moving,    carrying    with    it    irresistibly    the    compelling 


PREFACE 

motive  of   a   lone   man's   conquest   over  what   seems   to   be 
inexorable  Fate. 

Do  my  pictures  add  a  little  to  the  vividness  of  this  story? 
Do  I  aid  a  little  in  the  clearer  vizualization  of  Robinson  Crusoe 
as  he  moves  about  on  his  sunny  island  ?  That  is  the  most  I  can 
hope  for. 

N.  C.  Wyeth. 
Chadd'sFord,  Pa.,  1920. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

VAGI 

Robinson's  Family — His  Elopement  from  His  Parents  .      .     .     .       l 

CHAPTER  II 

First  Adventures  at  Sea — Experience  of  a  Maritime  Life — Voy- 
age to  Guinea g 

CHAPTER  III 

Robinson's  Captivity  at  Sallee — Escape  with  Xury— Arrival  at 

the  Brazils 21 

CHAPTER  IV 

He  Settles  in  the  Brazils  as  a  Planter — Makes  Another  Voy- 
age and  Is  Shipwrecked 42 

CHAPTER  V 

Robinson  Finds  Himself  on  a  Desolate  Island  and  Procures  a 
Stock  of  Articles  from  the  Wreck — He  Constructs  His 
Habitation 61 

CHAPTER  VI 

Robinson  Carries  All  His  Riches,  Provisions,  Etc.,  into  His  Habi- 
tation— Dreariness  of  Solitude — Consolatory  Reflections  .      77 

CHAPTER  VII 

Robinson's  Mode  of  Reckoning  Time — Difficulties  Arising  from 

Want  of  Tools — He  Arranges  His  Habitation 83 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Robinson's  Journal — Details  of  His  Domestic  Economy  and  Con- 
trivances— Shock  of  an  Earthquake 91 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IX 

Robinson  Obtains  More  Articles  from  the  Wreck — His  Illness 

and  Affliction 109 

CHAPTER  X 

His  Recovery — His  Comfort  in  Reading  the  Scriptures — He 
Makes  an  Excursion  into  the  Interior  of  the  Island — Forms 
His  "Bower" 120 

CHAPTER  XI 

Robinson   Makes   a   Tour   to   Explore    His   Island — Employed   in 

Basket  Making 139 

CHAPTER  XII 

He  Returns  to  His  Cave — His  Agricultural  Labors  and  Success  .    146 

CHAPTER  XIII 
His  Manufacture  of  Pottery,  and  Contrivances  for  Baking  Bread  157 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Meditates  His  Escape  from  the  Island — Builds  a  Canoe — Failure 
of  His  Scheme  and  Resignation  to  His  Condition — He  Makes 
Himself  a  New  Dress 164 

CHAPTER  XV 

He  Makes  a  Smaller  Canoe  in  Which  He  Attempts  to  Cruise 
Round  the  Island — His  Perilous  Situation  at  Sea — He  Re- 
turns Home 180 

CHAPTER  XVI 

He  Rears  a  Flock  of  Goats — His  Diary — His  Domestic  Habits  and 

Style  of  Living — Increasing  Prosperity 192 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XVII  PAGE 

Unexpected  Alarm — Cause  for  Apprehension — He  Fortifies  His 

Abode 20S 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

Precautions    Against    Surprise — Robinson     Discovers    that    His 

Island  Has  Been  Visited  by  Cannibals 215 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Robinson    Discovers   a    Cave,   Which   Serves   Him   as  a   Retreat 

Against  the  Savages 229 


CHAPTER  XX 

Another  Visit  of  the  Savages — Robinson  Sees  Them  Dancing — He 

Perceives  the  Wreck  of  a  Vessel 240 


CHAPTER  XXI 

He  Visits  the  Wreck  and  Obtains  Many  Stores  from  it — Again 

Thinks  of  Quitting  the  Island — Has  a  Remarkable  Dream    .  249 


CHAPTER  XXII 

Robinson  Rescues  One  of  Their  Captives  from  the  Savages,  Whom 

He  Names  Friday,  and  Makes  His  Servant 266 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

Robinson  Instructs  and  Civilizes  His  Man  Friday  and  Endeavors 

to  Give  Him  an  Idea  of  Christianity 279 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXIV  PA0E 

Robinson  and  Friday  Build  a  Canoe  to  Carry  Them  to  Friday's 
Country — Their  Scheme  Prevented  by  the  Arrival  of  a 
Party   of   Savages 294 

CHAPTER  XXV 

Robinson  Releases  a  Spaniard — Friday  Discovers  His  Father — 
Accommodation  Provided  for  These  New  Guests,  Who  Were 
Afterward  Sent  to  Liberate  the  Other  Spaniards — Arrival 
of  an  English  Vessel 310 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

Robinson  Discovers  Himself  to  the  English  Captain — Assists  Him 

in  Reducing  His  Mutinous  Crew,  Who  Submit  to  Him      .      .   335 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

Atkins  Entreats  the  Captain  to  Spare  His  Life — The  Latter  Re- 
covers His  Vessel  from  the  Mutineers,  and  Robinson  Leaves 
the   Island 355 


THE  ILLUSTRATIONS 


"For  a  mile,  or  thereabouts,  my  raft  went  very  well — "     Frontispiece 

FACING 
PAGE 

"My  father,  a  wise  and  grave  man,  gave  me  serious  and  excellent 

counsel  against  what  he  foresaw  was  my  design"  ....        2 


" — and  making  it  into  a  great  cross,  I  set  it  up  on  the  shore  where 

I  first  landed—" 84 


'All  this  while  I  sat  upon  the  ground,  very  much  terrified  and 

dejected" 106 


"In  the  morning  I  took  the  Bible ;  and  beginning  at  the  New  Testa- 
ment, I  began  seriously  to  read  it — " 126 


"I  reaped  it  my  way,  for  I  cut  nothing  off  but  the  ears,  and  car- 
ried it  away  in  a  great  basket  which  I  had  made"      .      .      .      154 


" — and  thus  I  every  now  and  then  took  a  little  voyage  upon  the 

sea" 182 


"I  stood  like  one  thunderstruck,  or  as  if  I  had  seen  an  apparition"  204 


"I  laid  me  down  flat  on  my  belly  on  the  ground,  and  began  to  look 

for  the  place" 242 


" — and  then  he  kneeled  down  again,  kissed  the  ground,  and  taking 

me  by  the  foot,  set  my  foot  upon  his  head"  ..      .  270 


THE    ILLUSTRATIONS 

" — we  cut  and  hewed  the  outside  into  the  true  shape  of  a  boat"  .    302 

" — and  no  sooner  had  he  the  arms  in  his  hands  but,  as  if  they  had 
put  new  vigor  into  him,  he  flew  upon  his  murderers  like  a 
fury" 312 

"At  first,  for  some  time  I  was  not  able  to  answer  him  one  word ; 
but  as  he  had  taken  me  in  his  arms,  I  held  fast  by  him,  or  I 
should  have  fallen  to  the  ground" 362 


Note.     The  paintmgs  by  Mr.  N.  C.  Wyeth,  reproduced, 
in    this    volume,    are    fully    protected    by    copyright. 


ROBINSON  CRUSOE 


ROBINSON  CRUSOE 

CHAPTER  I 

Robinson's  Family — His  Elopement  from  His  Parents 

I  WAS  born  in  the  year  1632,  in  the  city  of  York,  of  a  good 
family,  though  not  of  that  country,  my  father  being  a 
foreigner  of  Bremen,  who  settled  first  at  Hull.  He  got 
a  good  estate  by  merchandise,  and  leaving  off  his  trade,  lived 
afterward  at  York,  from  whence  he  had  married  my  mother, 
whose  relations  were  named  Robinson,  a  very  good  family  in 
that  country,  and  from  whom  I  was  called  Robinson  Kreutz- 
naer ;  but  by  the  usual  corruption  of  words  in  England  we  are 
now  called,  nay,  we  call  ourselves,  and  write  our  name,  Crusoe, 
and  so  my  companions  always  called  me. 

I  had  two  elder  brothers,  one  of  which  was  lieutenant-colonel 
to  an  English  regiment  of  foot  in  Flanders,  formerly  com- 
manded by  the  famous  Colonel  Lockhart,  and  was  killed  at 
the  battle  near  Dunkirk  against  the  Spaniards;  what  became 
of  my  second  brother  I  never  knew,  any  more  than  my  father 
and  mother  did  know  what  was  become  of  me. 

Being  the  third  son  of  the  family,  and  not  bred  to  any  trade, 
my  head  began  to  be  filled  very  early  with  rambling  thoughts. 
My  father,  who  was  very  old,  had  given  me  a  competent  share 
of  learning,  as  far  as  house-education  and  a  country  free 

[i] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

school  generally  goes,  and  designed  me  for  the  law;  but  I 
would  be  satisfied  with  nothing  but  going  to  sea;  and  my  in- 
clination to  this  led  me  so  strongly  against  the  will,  nay,  the 
commands,  of  my  father,  and  against  all  the  entreaties  and 
persuasions  of  my  mother  and  other  friends,  that  there  seemed 
to  be  something  fatal  in  that  propension  of  nature  tending 
directly  to  the  lie  of  misery  which  was  to  befall  me. 

My  father,  a  wise  and  grave  man,  gave  me  serious  and  ex- 
cellent counsel  against  what  he  foresaw  was  my  design.  He 
called  me  one  morning  into  his  chamber,  where  he  was  con- 
fined by  the  gout,  and  expostulated  very  warmly  with  me  upon 
this  subject.  He  asked  me  what  reasons  more  than  a  mere 
wandering  inclination  I  had  for  leaving  my  father's  house  and 
my  native  country,  where  I  might  be  well  introduced,  and  had 
a  prospect  of  raising  my  fortunes  by  application  and  indus- 
try, with  a  life  of  ease  and  pleasure.  He  told  me  it  was  for 
men  of  desperate  fortunes  on  one  hand,  or  of  aspiring,  superior 
fortunes  on  the  other,  who  went  abroad  upon  adventures,  to 
rise  by  enterprise,  and  make  themselves  famous  in  undertak- 
ings of  a  nature  out  of  the  common  road;  that  these  things 
were  all  either  too  far  above  me,  or  too  far  below  me;  that 
mine  was  the  middle  state  or  what  might  be  called  the  upper 
station  of  low  life,  which  he  had  found  by  long  experience  was 
the  best  state  in  the  world,  the  most  suited  to  human  happi- 
ness, not  exposed  to  the  miseries  and  hardships,  the  labor  and 
sufferings,  of  the  mechanic  part  of  mankind,  and  not  em- 
barrassed with  the  pride,  luxury,  ambition,  and  envy  of  the 
upper  part  of  mankind.     He  told  me  I  might  judge  of  the 

[2] 


Ill     HlBW 


ST'- 


SPfPfi  ^^ 


©   C      B     C. 


"  My  father,  a  wise  and  grave  man,  gave  me  serious  and  excellent  counsel 
against  what  he  foresaw  was  my  design" 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

happiness  of  this  state  by  this  one  thing,  viz.,  that  this  was 
the  state  of  life  which  all  other  people  envied;  that  kings  have 
frequently  lamented  the  miserable  consequences  of  being  born 
to  great  things,  and  wished  they  had  been  placed  in  the  middle 
of  the  two  extremes,  between  the  mean  and  the  great ;  that  the 
wise  man  gave  his  testimony  to  this  as  the  just  standard  of  true 
felicity,  when  he  prayed  to  have  neither  poverty  nor  riches. 

He  bid  me  observe  it,  and  I  should  always  find,  that  the 
calamities  of  life  were  shared  among  the  upper  and  lower  part 
of  mankind;  but  that  the  middle  station  had  the  fewest  dis- 
asters, and  was  not  exposed  to  so  many  vicissitudes  as  the 
higher  or  lower  part  of  mankind.  Nay,  they  were  not  sub- 
jected to  so  many  distempers  and  uneasiness  either  of  body 
or  mind  as  those  were  who,  by  vicious  living,  luxury,  and  ex- 
travagances on  one  hand,  or  by  hard  labor,  want  of  necessar- 
ies, and  mean  or  insufficient  diet  on  the  other  hand,  bring  dis- 
tempers upon  themselves  by  the  natural  consequences  of  their 
way  of  living;  that  the  middle  station  of  life  was  calculated 
for  all  kind  of  virtues  and  all  kind  of  enjoyments;  that  peace 
and  plenty  were  the  handmaids  of  a  middle  fortune ;  that  tem- 
perance, moderation,  quietness,  health,  society,  all  agreeable  di- 
versions, and  all  desirable  pleasures,  were  the  blessings  attend- 
ing the  middle  station  of  life ;  that  this  way  men  went  silently 
and  smoothly  through  the  world,  and  comfortably  out  of  it, 
not  embarrassed  with  the  labors  of  the  hands  or  of  the  head, 
not  sold  to  the  life  of  slavery  for  daily  bread,  or  harassed  with 
perplexed  circumstances,  which  rob  the  soul  of  peace,  and  the 
body  of  rest;  not  enraged  with  the  passion  of  envy,  or  secret 

[3] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

burning  lust  of  ambition  for  great  things;  but  in  easy  cir- 
cumstances sliding  gently  through  the  world,  and  sensibly  tast- 
ing the  sweets  of  living,  without  the  bitter,  feeling  that  they  are 
happy,  and  learning  by  every  day's  experience  to  know  it  more 
sensibly. 

After  this,  he  pressed  me  earnestly,  and  in  the  most  affection- 
ate manner,  not  to  play  the  young  man,  not  to  precipitate  my- 
self into  miseries  which  Nature  and  the  station  of  life  I  was 
born  in  seemed  to  have  provided  against ;  that  I  was  under  no 
necessity  of  seeking  my  bread;  that  he  would  do  well  for  me, 
and  endeavor  to  enter  me  fairly  into  the  station  of  life  which 
he  had  been  just  recommending  to  me;  and  that  if  I  was  not 
very  easy  and  happy  in  the  world  it  must  be  my  mere  fate  or 
fault  that  must  hinder  it,  and  that  he  should  have  nothing  to 
answer  for,  having  thus  discharged  his  duty  in  warning  me 
against  measures  which  he  knew  would  be  to  my  hurt;  in  a 
word,  that  as  he  would  do  very  kind  things  for  me  if  I  would 
stay  and  settle  at  home  as  he  directed,  so  he  would  not  have 
so  much  hand  in  my  misfortunes,  as  to  give  me  any  encourage- 
ment to  go  away.  And  to  close  all,  he  told  me  I  had  my  elder 
brother  for  an  example,  to  whom  he  had  used  the  same  earnest 
persuasions  to  keep  him  from  going  into  the  Low  Country 
wars,  but  could  not  prevail,  his  young  desires  prompting  him 
to  run  into  the  army,  where  he  was  killed ;  and  though  he  said 
he  would  not  cease  to  pray  for  me,  yet  he  would  venture  to 
say  to  me,  that  if  I  did  take  this  foolish  step,  God  would  not 
bless  me,  and  I  would  have  leisure  hereafter  to  reflect  upon 

[4] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

having  neglected  his  counsel  when  there  might  be  none  to  assist 
in  my  recovery. 

I  observed  in  this  last  part  of  his  discourse,  which  was  truly 
prophetic,  though  I  suppose  my  father  did  not  know  it  to  be 
so  himself — I  say,  I  observed  the  tears  run  down  his  face  very 
plentifully,  and  especially  when  he  spoke  of  my  brother  who 
was  killed;  and  that  when  he  spoke  of  my  having  leisure  to 
repent,  and  none  to  assist  me,  he  was  so  moved,  that  he  broke 
off  the  discourse,  and  told  me,  his  heart  was  so  full  he  could 
say  no  more  to  me. 

I  was  sincerely  affected  with  this  discourse,  as,  indeed,  who 
could  be  otherwise ;  and  I  resolved  not  to  think  of  going  abroad 
any  more,  but  to  settle  at  home  according  to  my  father's  desire. 

But  alas !  a  few  days  wore  it  all  off ;  and,  in  short,  to  prevent 
any  of  my  father's  farther  importunities,  in  a  few  weeks  after 
I  resolved  to  run  quite  away  from  him.  However,  I  did  not 
act  so  hastily  neither  as  my  first  heat  of  resolution  prompted, 
but  I  took  my  mother,  at  a  time  when  I  thought  her  a  little 
pleasanter  than  ordinary,  and  told  her,  that  my  thoughts  were 
so  entirely  bent  upon  seeing  the  world,  that  I  should  never 
settle  to  anything  with  resolution  enough  to  go  through  with 
it,  and  my  father  had  better  give  me  his  consent  than  force  me 
to  go  without  it ;  that  I  was  now  eighteen  years  old,  which  was 
too  late  to  go  apprentice  to  a  trade,  or  clerk  to  an  attorney ;  that 
I  was  sure  if  I  did,  I  should  never  serve  out  my  time,  and  I 
should  certainly  run  away  from  my  master  before  my  time 
was  out,  and  go  to  sea;  and  if  she  would  speak  to  my  father 

[5] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

to  let  me  go  but  one  voyage  abroad,  if  I  came  home  again  and 
did  not  like  it,  I  would  go  no  more,  and  I  would  promise  by 
a  double  diligence  to  recover  that  time  I  had  lost. 

This  put  my  mother  into  a  great  passion.  She  told  me,  she 
knew  it  would  be  to  no  purpose  to  speak  to  my  father  upon 
any  such  subject;  that  he  knew  too  well  what  was  my  in- 
terest to  give  his  consent  to  anything  so  much  for  my  hurt, 
and  that  she  wondered  how  I  could  think  of  any  such  thing 
after  such  a  discourse  as  I  had  had  with  my  father,  and  such 
kind  and  tender  expressions  as  she  knew  my  father  had  used 
to  me ;  and  that,  in  short,  if  I  would  ruin  myself  there  was  no 
help  for  me ;  but  I  might  depend  I  should  never  have  their  con- 
sent to  it;  that  for  her  part,  she  would  not  have  so  much  hand 
in  my  destruction,  and  I  should  never  have  it  to  say  that  my 
mother  was  willing  when  my  father  was  not. 

Though  my  mother  refused  to  move  it  to  my  father,  yet,  as 
I  have  heard  afterwards,  she  reported  all  the  discourse  to  him, 
and  that  my  father,  after  showing  a  great  concern  at  it,  said  to 
her  with  a  sigh,  "That  boy  might  be  happy  if  he  would  stay  at 
home,  but  if  he  goes  abroad  he  will  be  the  miserablest  wretch 
that  was  ever  born:  I  can  give  no  consent  to  it." 

It  was  not  till  almost  a  year  after  this  that  I  broke  loose, 
though  in  the  meantime  I  continued  obstinately  deaf  to  all 
proposals  of  settling  to  business,  and  frequently  expostulating 
with  my  father  and  mother  about  their  being  so  positively 
determined  against  what  they  knew  my  inclinations  prompted 
me  to.  But  being  one  day  at  Hull,  where  I  went  casually, 
and  without  any  purpose  of  making  an  elopement  that  time; 

[6] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

but  I  say,  being  there,  and  one  of  my  companions  being  going 
by  sea  to  London,  in  his  father's  ship,  and  prompting  me  to  go 
with  them,  with  the  common  allurement  of  sea-faring  men,  viz., 
that  it  should  cost  me  nothing  for  my  passage,  I  consulted 
neither  father  nor  mother  any  more,  nor  so  much  as  sent  them 
word  of  it ;  but  leaving  them  to  hear  of  it  as  they  might,  with- 
out asking  God's  blessing,  or  my  father's,  without  any  con- 
sideration of  circumstances  or  consequences,  and  in  an  ill  hour, 
God  knows. 


m 


CHAPTER  II 

First  Adventures  at  Sea — Experience  of  a  Maritime  Life — . 
Voyage  to  Guinea 

ON  the  1st  of  September,  1651,  I  went  on  board  a  ship 
bound  for  London.  Never  any  young  adventurer's 
misfortunes,  I  believe,  began  sooner,  or  continued 
longer  than  mine.  The  ship  was  no  sooner  gotten  out  of  the 
Humber,  but  the  wind  began  to  blow,  and  the  waves  to  rise 
in  a  most  frightful  manner;  and  as  I  had  never  been  at  sea 
before,  I  was  most  inexpressibly  sick  in  body,  and  terrified  in 
my  mind.  I  began  now  seriously  to  reflect  upon  what  I  had 
done,  and  how  justly  I  was  overtaken  by  the  judgment  of 
heaven  for  my  wickedness  in  leaving  my  father's  house,  and 
abandoning  my  duty;  all  the  good  counsel  of  nry  parents,  my 
father's  tears  and  my  mother's  entreaties,  came  now  fresh  into 
my  mind,  and  my  conscience,  which  was  not  yet  come  to  the 
pitch  of  hardness  which  it  has  been  since,  reproached  me  with 
the  contempt  of  advice,  and  the  breach  of  my  dutj^  to  God  and 
my  father. 

All  this  while  the  storm  increased,  and  the  sea,  which  I  had 
never  been  upon  before,  went  very  high,  though  nothing  like 
what  I  have  seen  many  times  since;  no,  nor  like  what  I  saw  a 
few  days  after.  But  it  was  enough  to  affect  me  then,  who  was 
but  a  young  sailor,  and  had  never  known  anything  of  the  mat- 
ter. I  expected  every  wave  would  have  swallowed  us  up,  and 
that  every  time  the  ship  fell  down,  as  I  thought,  in  the  trough 

[8] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

or  hollow  of  the  sea,  we  should  never  rise  more;  and  in  this 
agony  of  mind  I  made  many  vows  and  resolutions,  that  if  it 
would  please  God  here  to  spare  my  life  this  one  voyage,  if 
ever  I  once  got  my  foot  upon  dry  land  again,  I  would  go 
directly  home  to  my  father,  and  never  set  it  into  a  ship  again 
while  I  lived ;  that  I  would  take  his  advice,  and  never  run  my- 
self into  such  miseries  as  these  any  more.  Now  I  saw  plainly 
the  goodness  of  his  observations  about  the  middle  station  of 
life,  how  easy,  how  comfortably  he  had  lived  all  his  days,  and 
never  had  been  exposed  to  tempests  at  sea,  or  troubles  on  shore ; 
and  I  resolved  that  I  would,  like  a  true  repenting  prodigal,  go 
home  to  my  father. 

These  wise  and  sober  thoughts  continued  all  the  while  the 
storm  continued,  and  indeed  some  time  after ;  but  the  next  day 
the  wind  was  abated  and  the  sea  calmer,  and  I  began  to  be  a 
little  inured  to  it.  However,  I  was  very  grave  for  all  that  day, 
being  also  a  little  sea-sick  still;  but  towards  night  the  weather 
cleared  up,  the  wind  was  quite  over,  and  a  charming  fine  eve- 
ning followed;  the  sun  went  down  perfectly  clear,  and  rose  so 
the  next  morning;  and  having  little  or  no  wind,  and  a  smooth 
sea,  the  sun  shining  upon  it,  the  sight  was,  as  I  thought,  the 
most  delightful  that  ever  I  saw. 

I  had  slept  well  in  the  night,  and  was  now  no  more  sea-sick 
but  very  cheerful,  looking  with  wonder  upon  the  sea  that  was 
so  rough  and  terrible  the  day  before,  and  could  be  so  calm  and 
so  pleasant  in  so  little  time  after.  And  now  lest  my  good 
resolutions  should  continue,  my  companion,  who  had  indeed 
enticed  me  away,  came  to  me:    "Well,  Bob,"  said  he,  clapping 

[9] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

me  on  the  shoulder,  "how  do  you  do  after  it?  I  warrant  you 
were  frightened,  wa'n't  you,  last  night,  when  it  blew  but  a 
capful  of  wind?"  "A  capful,  d'you  call  it?"  said  I;  "  'twas  a 
terrible  storm."  "A  storm,  you  fool  you,"  replied  he;  "do  you 
call  that  a  storm?  Why,  it  was  nothing  at  all;  give  us  but  a 
good  ship  and  sea-room,  and  we  think  nothing  of  such  a  squall 
of  wind  as  that;  but  you're  but  a  fresh-water  sailor,  Bob. 
Come,  let  us  make  a  bowl  of  punch,  and  we'll  forget  all  that; 
d'ye  see  what  charming  weather  'tis  now?"  To  make  short  this 
sad  part  of  my  story,  we  went  the  old  way  of  all  sailors;  the 
punch  was  made,  and  I  was  made  drunk  with  it,  and  in  that 
one  night's  wickedness  I  drowned  all  my  repentance,  all  my 
reflections  upon  my  past  conduct,  and  all  my  resolutions  for 
my  future.  In  a  word,  as  the  sea  was  returned  to  its  smooth- 
ness of  surface  and  settled  calmness  by  the  abatement  of  that 
storm,  so  the  hurry  of  my  thoughts  being  over,  my  fears  and 
apprehensions  of  being  swallowed  up  by  the  sea  being  forgot- 
ten, and  the  current  of  my  former  desires  returned,  I  entirely 
forgot  the  vows  and  promises  that  I  made  in  my  distress.  I 
found  indeed  some  intervals  of  reflection,  and  the  serious 
thoughts  did,  as  it  were,  endeavor  to  return  again  sometimes; 
but  I  shook  them  off,  and  roused  myself  from  them  as  it  were 
from  a  distemper,  and  applying  myself  to  drink  and  company, 
soon  mastered  the  return  of  those  fits,  for  so  I  called  them,  and 
I  had  in  five  or  six  days  got  as  complete  a  victory  over  con- 
science as  any  young  fellow  that  resolved  not  to  be  troubled 
with  it  could  desire.  But  I  was  to  have  another  trial  for  it 
still ;  and  Providence,  as  in  such  cases  generally  it  does,  resolved 

[10] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

to  leave  me  entirely  without  excuse.  For  if  I  would  not  take 
this  for  a  deliverance,  the  next  was  to  be  such  a  one  as  the  worst 
and  most  hardened  wretch  among  us  would  confess  both  the 
danger  and  the  mercy. 

The  sixth  day  of  our  being  at  sea  we  came  into  Yarmouth 
Roads;  the  wind  having  been  contrary  and  the  weather  calm, 
we  had  made  but  little  way  since  the  storm.  Here  we  were 
obliged  to  come  to  an  anchor,  and  here  we  lay,  the  wind  con- 
tinuing contrary,  viz.,  at  south-west,  for  seven  or  eight  days, 
during  which  time  a  great  many  ships  from  Newcastle  came 
into  the  same  roads,  as  the  common  harbor  where  the  ships 
might  wait  for  a  wind  for  the  river. 

We  had  not,  however,  rid  here  so  long,  but  should  have 
tided  it  up  the  river,  but  that  the  wind  blew  too  fresh;  and 
after  we  had  lain  four  or  five  days,  blew  very  hard.  However, 
the  roads  being  reckoned  as  good  as  a  harbor,  the  anchorage 
good,  and  our  ground-tackle  very  strong,  our  men  were  un- 
concerned, and  not  in  the  least  apprehensive  of  danger,  but 
spent  the  time  in  rest  and  mirth,  after  the  manner  of  the  sea ; 
but  the  eighth  day  in  the  morning  the  wind  increased,  and  we 
had  all  hands  at  work  to  strike  our  top-masts,  and  make  every- 
thing snug  and  close,  that  the  ship  might  ride  as  easy  as  possi- 
ble. By  noon  the  sea  went  very  high  indeed,  and  our  ship 
rid  forecastle  in,  shipped  several  seas,  and  we  thought  once  or 
twice  our  anchor  had  come  home;  upon  which  our  master  or- 
dered out  the  sheet-anchor,  so  that  we  rode  with  two  anchors 
ahead,  and  the  cables  veered  out  to  the  bitter  end. 

By  this  time  it  blew  a  terrible  storm  indeed,  and  now  I 

mi 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

began  to  see  terror  and  amazement  in  the  faces  even  of  the 
seamen  themselves.  The  master,  though  vigilant  to  the  busi- 
ness of  preserving  the  ship,  yet  as  he  went  in  and  out  of  his 
cabin  by  me,  I  could  hear  him  softly  to  himself  say  several 
times,  "Lord  be  merciful  to  us,  we  shall  be  all  lost,  we  shall  be 
all  undone";  and  the  like.  During  these  first  hurries  I  was 
stupid,  lying  still  in  my  cabin,  which  was  in  the  steerage,  and 
cannot  describe  my  temper ;  I  could  ill  re-assume  the  first  peni- 
tence, which  I  had  so  apparently  trampled  upon,  and  hardened 
myself  against;  I  thought  the  bitterness  of  death  had  been 
past,  and  that  this  would  be  nothing  too,  like  the  first.  But 
when  the  master  himself  came  by  me,  as  I  said  just  now,  and 
said  we  should  be  all  lost,  I  was  dreadfully  frightened;  I  got 
up  out  of  my  cabin,  and  looked  out.  But  such  a  dismal  sight 
I  never  saw;  the  sea  went  mountains  high,  and  broke  upon  us 
every  three  or  four  minutes ;  when  I  could  look  about,  I  could 
see  nothing  but  distress  round  us.  Two  ships  that  rode  near 
us  we  found  had  cut  their  masts  by  the  board,  being  deep  laden ; 
and  our  men  cried  out,  that  a  ship  which  rode  about  a  mile 
ahead  of  us  was  foundered.  Two  more  ships  being  driven 
from  their  anchors,  were  run  out  of  the  roads  to  sea  at  all 
adventures,  and  that  with  not  a  mast  standing.  The  light 
ships  fared  the  best,  as  not  so  much  laboring  in  the  sea;  but 
two  or  three  of  them  drove,  and  came  close  by  us,  running 
away  with  only  their  sprit-sail  out  before  the  wind. 

Toward  evening  the  mate  and  boatswain  begged  the  master 
of  our  ship  to  let  them  cut  away  the  fore-mast,  which  he  was 
very  unwilling  to.     But  the  boatswain  protesting  to  him  that 

[12] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

if  he  did  not  the  ship  would  founder,  he  consented;  and  when 
they  had  cut  away  the  fore-mast,  the  main-mast  stood  so  loose, 
and  shook  the  ship  so  much,  they  were  obliged  to  cut  her  away 
also,  and  make  a  clear  deck. 

Any  one  may  judge  what  a  condition  I  must  be  in  at  all 
this,  who  was  but  a  young  sailor,  and  who  had  been  in  such  a 
fright  before  at  but  a  little.  But  if  I  can  express  at  this  dis- 
tance the  thoughts  I  had  about  me  at  that  time,  I  was  in 
tenfold  more  horror  of  mind  upon  account  of  my  former  con- 
victions, and  the  having  returned  from  them  to  the  resolutions 
I  had  wickedly  taken  at  first,  than  I  was  at  death  itself;  and 
these,  added  to  the  terror  of  the  storm,  put  me  into  such  a  con- 
dition, that  I  can  by  no  words  describe  it.  But  the  worst  was 
not  come  yet ;  the  storm  continued  with  such  fury,  that  the  sea- 
men themselves  acknowledged  they  had  never  known  a  worse. 

We  had  a  good  ship,  but  she  was  deep  laden,  and  wallowed 
in  the  sea,  that  the  seamen  every  now  and  then  cried  out  she 
would  founder.  It  was  my  advantage  in  one  respect,  that  I 
did  not  know  what  they  meant  by  founder  till  I  inquired. 

However,  the  storm  was  so  violent,  that  I  saw  what  is  not 
often  seen,  the  master,  the  boatswain,  and  some  others  more  sen- 
sible than  the  rest,  at  their  prayers,  and  expecting  every  mo- 
ment that  the  ship  would  go  to  the  bottom.  In  the  middle  of 
the  night,  and  under  all  the  rest  of  our  distresses,  one  of  the  men 
that  had  been  down  on  the  purpose  to  see  cried  out  we  had 
sprung  a  leak ;  another  said  there  was  four  foot  of  water  in  the 
hold.  Then  all  hands  were  called  to  the  pump.  At  that  very 
word  my  heart,  as  I  thought,  died  within  me,  and  I  fell  back 

[13] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

wards  upon  the  side  of  my  bed  where  I  sat,  into  the  cabin. 
However,  the  men  roused  me,  and  told  me,  that  I,  that  was 
able  to  do  nothing  before,  was  as  well  able  to  pump  as  an- 
other ;  at  which  I  stirred  up  and  went  to  the  pump  and  worked 
very  heartily.  While  this  was  doing,  the  master  seeing  some 
light  colliers,  who,  not  able  to  ride  out  the  storm,  were  obliged 
to  slip  and  run  away  to  sea,  and  would  come  near  us,  ordered  to 
fire  a  gun  as  a  signal  of  distress.  I,  who  knew  nothing  what 
that  meant,  was  so  surprised  that  I  thought  the  ship  had  broke, 
or  some  dreadful  thing  had  happened.  In  a  word,  I  was  so 
surprised  that  I  fell  down  in  a  swoon.  As  this  was  a  time  when 
everybody  had  his  own  life  to  think  of,  nobody  minded  me,  or 
what  was  become  of  me;  but  another  man  stepped  up  to  the 
pump,  and  thrusting  me  aside  with  his  foot,  let  me  lie,  thinking 
I  had  been  dead ;  and  it  was  a  great  while  before  I  came  to  my- 
self. 

We  worked  on,  but  the  water  increasing  in  the  hold,  it  was 
apparent  that  the  ship  would  founder,  and  though  the  storm 
began  to  abate  a  little,  yet  as  it  was  not  possible  she  could  swim 
till  we  might  run  into  a  port,  so  the  master  continued  firing 
guns  for  help;  and  a  light  ship,  who  had  rid  it  out  just  ahead 
of  us,  ventured  a  boat  out  to  help  us.  It  wTas  with  the  utmost 
hazard  the  boat  came  near  us,  but  it  was  impossible  for  us  to 
get  on  board,  or  for  the  boat  to  lie  near  the  ship's  side,  till  at 
last  the  men  rowing  very  heartily,  and  venturing  their  lives  to 
save  ours,  our  men  cast  them  a  rope  over  the  stern  with  a  buoy 
to  it,  and  then  veered  it  out  a  great  length,  which  they  after 
oreat  labor  and  hazard  took  hold  of,  and  we  hauled  them  close 

[14] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

under  our  stern,  and  got  all  into  their  boat.  It  was  to  no  pur- 
pose for  them  or  us  after  we  were  in  the  boat  to  think  of  reach- 
ing to  their  own  ship,  so  all  agreed  to  let  her  drive,  and  only  to 
pull  her  in  towards  shore  as  much  as  we  could,  and  our  master 
promised  them  that  if  the  boat  was  staved  upon  shore  he  would 
make  it  good  to  their  master ;  so  partly  rowing  and  partly  driv- 
ing, our  boat  went  away  to  the  norward,  sloping  towards  the 
shore  almost  as  far  as  Winterton  Ness. 

We  were  not  much  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  out  of 
our  ship  but  we  saw  her  sink,  and  then  I  understood  for  the 
first  time  what  was  meant  by  a  ship  foundering  in  the  sea.  I 
must  acknowledge  I  had  hardly  eyes  to  look  up  when  the  sea- 
men told  me  she  was  sinking ;  for  from  that  moment  they  rather 
put  me  into  the  boat  than  that  I  might  be  said  to  go  in ;  my  heart 
was  as  it  were  dead  within  me,  partly  with  fright,  partly  with 
horror  of  mind  and  the  thoughts  of  what  was  yet  before  me. 

While  we  were  in  this  condition,  the  men  yet  laboring  at 
the  oar  to  bring  the  boat  near  the  shore,  we  could  see,  when, 
our  boat  mounting  the  waves,  we  were  able  to  see  the  shore,  a 
great  many  people  running  along  the  shore  to  assist  us  when 
we  should  come  near.  But  we  made  but  slow  way  towards  the 
shore,  nor  were  we  able  to  reach  the  shore,  till  being  past  the 
lighthouse  at  Winterton,  the  shore  falls  off  to  the  westward 
towards  Cromer,  and  so  the  land  broke  off  a  little  the  violence 
of  the  wind.  Here  we  got  in,  and  though  not  without  much 
difficulty  got  all  safe  on  shore,  and  walked  afterwards  on  foot 
to  Yarmouth,  where,  as  unfortunate  men,  we  were  used  with 
great  humanity  as  well  by  the  magistrates  of  the  town,  who 

[IS] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

assigned  us  good  quarters,  as  by  particular  merchants  and 
owners  of  ships,  and  had  money  given  us  sufficient  to  carry  us 
either  to  London  or  back  to  Hull,  as  we  thought  fit. 

Had  I  now  had  the  sense  to  have  gone  back  to  Hull  and 
have  gone  home,  I  had  been  happy,  and  my  father,  an  emblem 
of  our  blessed  Savior's  parable,  had  even  killed  the  fatted  calf 
for  me ;  for  hearing  the  ship  I  went  away  in  was  cast  away  in 
Yarmouth  Road,  it  was  a  great  while  before  he  had  any  assur- 
ance that  I  was  not  drowned. 

But  my  ill-fate  pushed  me  on  now  with  an  obstinacy  that 
nothing  could  resist ;  and  though  I  had  several  times  loud  calls 
from  my  reason  and  my  more  composed  judgment  to  go  home, 
yet  I  had  no  power  to  do  it.  I  know  not  what  to  call  this,  nor 
will  I  urge  that  it  is  a  secret  overruling  decree  that  hurries  us 
on  to  be  the  instruments  of  our  own  destruction,  even  though 
it  be  before  us,  and  that  we  rush  upon  it  with  our  eyes  open. 
Certainly  nothing  but  some  such  decreed  unavoidable  misery 
attending,  and  which  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  escape,  could 
have  pushed  me  forward  against  the  calm  reasonings  and  per- 
suasions of  my  most  retired  thoughts,  and  against  two  such 
visible  instructions  as  I  had  met  with  in  my  first  attempt. 

My  comrade,  who  had  helped  to  harden  me  before,  and  who 
was  the  master's  son,  was  now  less  forward  than  I.  The  first 
time  he  spoke  to  me  after  we  were  at  Yarmouth,  which  was  not 
till  two  or  three  days,  for  we  were  separated  in  the  town  to 
several  quarters — I  say,  the  first  time  he  saw  me,  it  appeared 
his  tone  was  altered,  and  looking  very  melancholy  and  shak- 
ing his  head,  asked  me  how  I  did,  and  telling  his  father  who 

[16] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  was,  and  how  I  had  come  this  voyage  only  for  a  trial  in  order 
to  get  farther  abroad,  his  father  turning  to  me  with  a  very 
grave  and  concerned  tone,  "Young  man,"  said  he,  "you  ought 
never  to  go  to  sea  any  more,  you  ought  to  take  this  for  a  plain 
and  visible  token,  that  you  are  not  to  be  a  seafaring  man." 
"Why,  sir,"  said  I,  "will  you  go  to  sea  no  more?"  "That  is 
another  case,"  said  he;  "it  is  my  calling,  and  therefore,  my  duty; 
but  as  you  made  this  voyage  for  a  trial,  you  see  what  a  taste 
Heaven  has  given  you  of  what  you  are  to  expect  if  you  persist ; 
perhaps  this  is  all  befallen  us  on  your  account,  like  Jonah  in 
the  ship  of  Tarshish.  Pray,"  continued  he,  "what  are  you? 
and  on  what  account  did  you  go  to  sea?"  Upon  that  I  told 
him  some  of  my  story,  at  the  end  of  which  he  burst  out  with 
a  strange  kind  of  passion.  "What  had  I  done,"  said  he,  "that 
such  an  unhappy  wretch  should  come  into  my  ship?  I  would 
not  set  my  foot  in  the  same  ship  with  thee  again  for  a  thou- 
sand pounds."  This  indeed  was,  as  I  said,  an  excursion  of 
his  spirits,  which  were  yet  agitated  by  the  sense  of  his  loss, 
and  was  farther  than  he  could  have  authority  to  go.  However, 
he  afterwards  talked  very  gravely  to  me,  exhorted  me  to  go 
back  to  my  father,  and  not  tempt  Providence  to  my  ruin; 
told  me  I  might  see  a  visible  hand  of  Heaven  against  me. 
"And,  young  man,"  said  he,  "depend  upon  it,  if  you  do  not 
go  back,  wherever  you  go  you  will  meet  with  nothing  but  dis- 
asters and  disappointments,  till  your  father's  words  are  fulfilled 
upon  you." 

We  parted  soon  after;  for  I  made  him  little  answer,  and 
I  saw  him  no  more;  which  way  he  went,  I  know  not.     As 

[17] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

for  me,  having  some  money  in  my  pocket,  I  travelled  to  Lon- 
don by  land;  and  there,  as  well  as  on  the  road,  had  many 
struggles  with  myself  what  course  of  life  I  should  take,  and 
whether  I  should  go  home,  or  go  to  sea. 

As  to  going  home,  shame  opposed  the  best  motions  that 
offered  to  my  thoughts;  and  it  immediately  occurred  to  me 
how  I  should  be  laughed  at  among  the  neighbors,  and  should 
be  ashamed  to  see,  not  my  father  and  mother  only,  but  even 
everybody  else;  from  whence  I  have  since  often  observed  how 
incongruous  and  irrational  the  common  temper  of  mankind  is, 
especially  of  youth,  to  that  reason  which  ought  to  guide  them 
in  such  cases,  viz.,  that  they  are  not  ashamed  to  sin,  and  yet 
are  ashamed  to  repent;  not  ashamed  of  the  action  for  which 
they  ought  justly  to  be  esteemed  fools,  but  are  ashamed  of  the 
returning,  which  only  can  make  them  be  esteemed  wise  men. 

In  this  state  of  life,  however,  I  remained  some  time,  uncer- 
tain what  measures  to  take,  and  what  course  of  life  to  lead.  An 
irresistible  reluctance  continued  to  going  home ;  and  as  I  stayed 
a  while,  the  remembrance  of  the  distress  I  had  been  in  wore 
off;  and  as  that  abated,  the  little  motion  I  had  in  my  desires 
to  return  wore  off  with  it,  till  at  last  I  quite  laid  aside  the 
thoughts  of  it,  and  looked  out  for  a  voyage. 

That  evil  influence  which  carried  me  first  away  from  my 
father's  house,  that  hurried  me  into  the  wild  and  indigested 
notion  of  raising  my  fortune,  and  that  impressed  those  con- 
ceits so  forcibly  upon  me  as  to  make  me  deaf  to  all  good 
advice,  and  to  the  entreaties  and  even  command  of  my  father 
— I  say,  the  same  influence,  whatever  it  was,  presented  the 

[18] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

most  unfortunate  of  all  enterprises  to  my  view ;  and  I  went  on 
board  a  vessel  bound  to  the  coast  of  Africa,  or,  as  our  sailors 
vulgarly  call  it,  a  voyage  to  Guinea. 

It  was  my  great  misfortune  that  in  all  these  adventures  I 
did  not  ship  myself  as  a  sailor,  whereby,  though  I  might  in- 
deed have  worked  a  little  harder  than  ordinary,  yet  at  the  same 
time  I  had  learned  the  duty  and  office  of  a  foremast  man,  and 
in  time  might  have  qualified  myself  for  a  mate  or  lieutenant, 
if  not  for  a  master.  But  as  it  was  always  my  fate  to  choose 
for  the  worse,  so  I  did  here;  for  having  money  in  my  pocket, 
and  good  clothes  upon  my  back,  I  would  always  go  on  board 
in  the  habit  of  a  gentleman;  and  so  I  neither  had  any  busi- 
ness in  the  ship,  or  learned  to  do  any. 

It  was  my  lot  first  of  all  to  fall  into  pretty  good  com- 
pany in  London,  which  does  not  always  happen  to  such  loose 
and  misguided  young  fellows  as  I  then  was ;  the  devil  generally 
not  omitting  to  lay  some  snare  for  them  very  early;  but  it  was 
not  so  with  me.  I  first  fell  acquainted  with  the  master  of  a 
ship  who  had  been  on  the  coast  of  Guinea,  and  who,  having 
had  very  good  success  there,  was  resolved  to  go  again ;  and  who, 
taking  a  fancy  to  my  conversation,  which  was  not  at  all  dis- 
agreeable at  that  time,  hearing  me  say  I  had  a  mind  to  see  the 
world,  told  me  if  I  would  go  the  voyage  with  him  I  should 
be  at  no  expense ;  I  should  be  his  messmate  and  his  companion ; 
and  if  I  could  carry  anything  with  me,  I  should  have  all  the 
advantage  of  it  that  the  trade  would  permit,  and  perhaps  I 
might  meet  with  some  encouragement. 

I  embraced  the  offer,  and,  entering  into  a  strict  friend- 

[19] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

ship  with  this  captain,  who  was  an  honest  and  plain-dealing 
man,  I  went  the  voyage  with  him,  and  carried  a  small  adventure 
with  me,  which,  by  the  disinterested  honesty  of  my  friend  the 
captain,  I  increased  very  considerably,  for  I  carried  about  £40 
in  such  toys  and  trifles  as  the  captain  directed  me  to  buy.  This 
£40  I  had  mustered  together  by  the  assistance  of  some  of  my 
relations  whom  I  corresponded  with,  and  who,  I  believe,  got  my 
father,  or  at  least  my  mother,  to  contribute  so  much  as  that  to 
my  first  adventure. 

This  was  the  only  voyage  which  I  may  say  was  successful 
in  all  my  adventures,  and  which  I  owe  to  the  integrity  and 
honesty  of  my  friend  the  captain;  under  whom  also  I  got  a 
competent  knowledge  of  the  mathematics  and  the  rules  of 
navigation,  learned  how  to  keep  an  account  of  the  ship's  course, 
take  an  observation,  and,  in  short,  to  understand  some  things 
that  were  needful  to  be  understood  by  a  sailor.  For,  as  he 
took  delight  to  introduce  me,  I  took  delight  to  learn ;  and,  in  a 
word,  this  voyage  made  me  both  a  sailor  and  a  merchant;  for 
I  brought  home  five  pounds  nine  ounces  of  gold  dust  for  my 
adventure,  which  yielded  me  in  London  at  my  return  almost 
£300,  and  this  filled  me  with  those  aspiring  thoughts  which 
have  since  so  completed  my  ruin. 

Yet  even  in  this  voyage  I  had  my  misfortunes  too;  par- 
ticularly, that  I  was  continually  sick,  being  thrown  into  a 
violent  fever  by  the  excessive  heat  of  the  climate ;  our  principal 
trading  being  upon  the  coast,  from  the  latitude  of  15  degrees 
north  even  to  the  line  itself. 


[20] 


CHAPTER  III 

Robinson's  Captivity  at  Sallee — Escape  with  Xury — Arrival  at  the 

Brazils 

I  WAS  now  set  up  for  a  Guinea  trader;  and  my  friend,  to 
my  great  misfortune,  dying  soon  after  his  arrival,  I  re- 
solved to  go  the  same  voyage  again,  and  I  embarked  in  the 
same  vessel  with  one  who  was  his  mate  in  the  former  voyage, 
and  had  now  got  the  command  of  the  ship.  This  was  the  un- 
happiest  voyage,  that  ever  man  made;  for  though  I  did  not 
carry  quite  £100  of  my  new-gained  wealth,  so  that  I  had  £200 
left,  and  which  I  lodged  with  my  friend's  widow,  who  was 
very  just  to  me,  yet  I  fell  into  terrible  misfortunes  in  this  voy- 
age ;  and  the  first  was  this,  viz.,  our  ship  making  her  course  to- 
ward the  Canary  Islands,  or  rather  between  those  islands  and 
the  African  shore,  was  surprised  in  the  gray  of  the  morning 
by  a  Turkish  rover  of  Sallee,  who  gave  chase  to  us  with  all  the 
sail  she  could  make.  We  crowded  also  as  much  canvas  as  our 
yards  would  spread,  or  our  masts  carry,  to  have  got  clear ;  but 
finding  the  pirate  gained  upon  us,  and  would  certainly  come  up 
with  us  in  a  few  hours,  we  prepared  to  fight,  our  ship  having 
twelve  guns,  and  the  rogue  eighteen.  About  three  in  the 
afternoon  he  came  up  with  us,  and  bringing  to,  by  mistake, 
just  athwart  our  quarter,  instead  of  athwart  our  stern,  as  he 
intended,  we  brought  eight  of  our  guns  to  bear  on  that  side, 

[21] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

and  poured  in  a  broadside  upon  him,  which  made  him  sheer  off 
again,  after  returning  our  fire  and  pouring  in  also  his  small- 
shot  from  near  200  men  which  he  had  on  board.  However, 
we  had  not  a  man  touched,  all  our  men  keeping  close.  He 
prepared  to  attack  us  again,  and  we  to  defend  ourselves ;  but 
laying  us  on  board  the  next  time  upon  our  other  quarter,  he 
entered  sixty  men  upon  our  decks,  who  immediately  fell  to  cut- 
ting and  hacking  the  decks  and  rigging.  We  plied  them  with 
small-shot,  half-pikes,  powder-chests,  and  such  like,  and  cleared 
our  deck  of  them  twice.  However,  to  cut  short  this  melancholy 
part  of  our  story,  our  ship  being  disabled,  and  three  of  our 
men  killed  and  eight  wounded,  we  were  obliged  to  yield,  and 
were  carried  all  prisoners  into  Sallee,  a  port  belonging  to  the 
Moors. 

The  usage  I  had  there  was  not  so  dreadful  as  at  first  I 
apprehended,  nor  was  I  carried  up  the  country  to  the  em- 
peror's court,  as  the  rest  of  our  men  were,  but  was  kept  by  the 
captain  of  the  rover  as  his  proper  prize,  and  made  his  slave, 
being  young  and  nimble,  and  fit  for  his  business.  At  this 
surprising  change  of  my  circumstances  from  a  merchant  to  a 
miserable  slave,  I  was  perfectly  overwhelmed ;  and  now  I  looked 
back  upon  my  father's  prophetic  discourse  to  me,  that  I  should 
be  miserable,  and  have  none  to  relieve  me,  which  I  thought 
was  now  so  effectually  brought  to  pass,  that  it  could  not  be 
worse;  that  now  the  hand  of  Heaven  had  overtaken  me,  and 
I  was  undone  without  redemption.  But  alas;  this  was  but  a 
taste  of  the  misery  I  was  to  go  through,  as  will  appear  in  the 
sequel  of  this  story. 

[22] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

As  my  new  patron,  or  master,  had  taken  me  home  to  his 
house,  so  I  was  in  hopes  that  he  would  take  me  with  him  when 
he  went  to  sea  again,  believing  that  it  would  some  time  or  other 
be  his  fate  to  be  taken  by  a  Spanish  or  Portuguese  man-o'-war ; 
and  that  then  I  should  be  set  at  liberty.  But  this  hope  of  mine 
was  soon  taken  away ;  for  when  he  went  to  sea,  he  left  me  on 
shore  to  look  after  his  little  garden,  and  do  the  common  drudg- 
ery of  slaves  about  his  house;  and  when  he  came  home  again 
from  his  cruise,  he  ordered  me  to  lie  in  the  cabin  to  look  after 
the  ship. 

Here  I  meditated  nothing  but  my  escape,  and  what  method 
I  might  take  to  effect  it,  but  found  no  way  that  had  the  least 
probability  in  it.  Nothing  presented  to  make  the  supposition 
of  it  rational;  for  I  had  nobody  to  communicate  it  to  that 
would  embark  with  me,  no  fellow-slave,  no  Englishman,  Irish- 
man, or  Scotsman  there  but  myself;  so  that  for  two  years, 
though  I  often  pleased  myself  with  the  imagination,  yet  I 
never  had  the  least  encouraging  prospect  of  putting  it  in  prac- 
tice. 

After  about  two  years  an  odd  circumstance  presented  itself, 
which  put  the  old  thought  of  making  some  attempt  for  my 
liberty  again  in  my  head.  My  patron  lying  at  home  longer 
than  usual  without  fitting  out  his  ship,  which,  as  I  heard,  was 
for  want  of  money,  he  used  constantly,  once  or  twice  a  week, 
sometimes  oftener,  if  the  weather  was  fair,  to  take  the  ship's 
pinnace,  and  go  out  into  the  road  a-fishing;  and  as  he  always 
took  me  and  a  young  Maresco  with  him  to  row  the  boat,  we 
made  him  very  merry,  and  I  proved  very  dexterous  in  catch- 

[23] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

ing  fish;  insomuch,  that  sometimes  he  would  send  me  with  a 
Moor,  one  of  his  kinsmen,  and  the  youth  the  Maresco,  as  they 
called  him,  to  catch  a  dish  of  fish  for  him. 

It  happened  one  time  that,  going  a-fishing  in  a  stark  calm 
morning,  a  fog  rose  so  thick,  that  though  we  were  not  half  a 
league  from  the  shore  we  lost  sight  of  it ;  and  rowing  we  knew 
not  whither  or  which  way,  we  labored  all  day,  and  all  the  next 
night,  and  when  the  morning  came  we  found  we  had  pulled 
off  to  sea  instead  of  pulling  in  for  the  shore ;  and  that  we  were 
at  least  two  leagues  from  the  shore.  However,  we  got  well 
in  again,  though  with  a  great  deal  of  labor,  and  some  danger, 
for  the  wind  began  to  blow  pretty  fresh  in  the  morning;  but 
particularly  we  were  all  very  hungry. 

But  our  patron,  warned  by  this  disaster,  resolved  to  take 
more  care  of  himself  for  the  future;  and  having  lying  by  him 
the  long-boat  of  our  English  ship  which  he  had  taken,  he  re- 
solved he  would  not  go  a-fishing  any  more  without  a  compass 
and  some  provisions;  so  he  ordered  the  carpenter  of  his  ship, 
who  also  was  an  English  slave,  to  build  a  little  state-room,  or 
cabin,  in  the  middle  of  the  long-boat,  like  that  of  a  barge,  with 
a  place  to  stand  behind  it  to  steer  and  haul  home  the  main-sheet, 
and  room  before  for  a  hand  or  two  to  stand  and  work  the  sails. 
She  sailed  with  what  we  call  a  shoulder-of-mutton  sail;  and 
the  boom  jibed  over  the  top  of  the  cabin,  which  lay  very  snug 
and  low,  and  had  in  it  room  for  him  to  lie,  with  a  slave  or  two, 
and  a  table  to  eat  on,  with  some  small  lockers  to  put  in  some 
bottles  of  such  liquor  as  he  thought  fit  to  drink;  particularly 
his  bread,  rice,  and  coffee. 

[24] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

We  went  frequently  out  with  this  boat  a-fishing,  and  as 
I  was  most  dexterous  to  catch  fish  for  him,  he  never  went 
without  me.  It  happened  that  he  had  appointed  to  go  out 
in  this  boat,  either  for  pleasure  or  for  fish,  with  two  or  three 
Moors  of  some  distinction  in  that  place,  and  for  whom  he  had 
provided  extraordinarily;  and  had  therefore  sent  on  board 
the  boat  overnight  a  larger  store  of  provisions  than  ordinary; 
and  had  ordered  me  to  get  ready  three  fusees  with  powder  and 
shot,  which  were  on  board  his  ship,  for  that  they  designed  some 
sport  of  fowling  as  well  as  fishing. 

I  got  all  things  ready  as  he  had  directed,  and  waited  the 
next  morning  with  the  boat,  washed  clean,  her  ancient  and 
pendants  out,  and  everything  to  accommodate  his  guests;  when 
by  and  by  my  patron  came  on  board  alone,  and  told  me  his 
guests  had  put  off  gclng,  upon  some  business  that  fell  out,  and 
ordered  me  with  the  man  and  boy,  as  usual,  to  go  out  with  the 
boat  and  catch  them  some  fish,  for  that  his  friends  were  to  sup 
at  his  house;  and  commanded  that  as  soon  as  I  had  got  some 
fish  I  should  bring  it  home  to  his  house;  all  which  I  prepared 
to  do. 

This  moment  my  former  notions  of  deliverance  darted  into 
my  thoughts,  for  now  I  found  I  was  like  to  have  a  little  ship 
at  my  command;  and  my  master  being  gone  I  prepared  to 
furnish  myself,  not  for  a  fishing  business,  but  for  a  voyage; 
though  I  knew  not,  neither  did  I  so  much  as  consider,  whither 
I  should  steer;  for  anywhere,  to  get  out  of  that  place,  was 
my  way. 

My  first  contrivance  was  to  make  a  pretence  to  speak  to 

[25] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

this  Moor,  to  get  something  for  our  subsistence  on  board;  for 
I  told  him  we  must  not  presume  to  eat  of  our  patron's  bread. 
He  said  that  was  true;  so  he  brought  a  large  basket  of  rusk 
or  biscuit  of  their  kind,  and  three  jars  with  fresh  water,  into 
the  boat.  I  knew  where  my  patron's  case  of  bottles  stood, 
which  it  was  evident  by  the  make  were  taken  out  of  some  Eng- 
lish prize;  and  I  conveyed  them  into  the  boat  while  the  Moor 
was  on  shore,  as  if  they  had  been  there  before  for  our  master. 
I  conveyed  also  a  great  lump  of  beeswax  into  the  boat,  which 
weighed  above  half  a  hundredweight,  with  a  parcel  of  twine 
or  thread,  a  hatchet,  a  saw,  and  a  hammer,  all  which  were  of 
great  use  to  us  afterwards,  especially  the  wax  to  make  candles. 
Another  trick  I  tried  upon  him,  which  he  innocently  came  into 
also.  His  name  was  Ismael,  who  they  call  Muly,  or  Moely; 
so  I  called  to  him,  "Moely,"  said  I,  "our  patron's  guns  are 
on  board  the  boat;  can  you  not  get  a  little  powder  and  shot? 
It  may  be  we  may  kill  some  alcamies  (a  fowl  like  our  curlews) 
for  ourselves  for  I  know  he  keeps  the  gunner's  stores  in  the 
ship."  "Yes,"  said  he,  "I'll  bring  some";  and  accordingly  he 
brought  a  great  leather  pouch  which  held  about  a  pound  and  a 
half  of  powder,  or  rather  more;  and  another  with  shot,  that 
had  five  or  six  pounds  with  some  bullets,  and  put  all  into  the 
boat.  At  the  same  time  I  had  found  some  powder  of  my 
master's  in  the  great  cabin,  with  which  I  filled  one  of  the  large 
bottles  in  the  case,  which  was  almost  empty,  pouring  what  was 
in  it  into  another ;  and  thus  furnished  with  everything  needful, 
we  sailed  out  of  the  port  to  fish.  The  castle,  which  is  at 
the  entrance  of  the  port,  knew  who  we  were,  and  took  no  notice 

[26] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

of  us ;  and  we  were  not  above  a  mile  out  of  the  port  before  we 
hauled  in  our  sail,  and  set  us  down  to  fish.  The  wind  blew  from 
the  N.N.E.,  which  was  contrary  to  my  desire;  for  had  it  blown 
southerly  I  had  been  sure  to  have  made  the  coast  of  Spain, 
and  at  least  reached  to  the  bay  of  Cadiz;  but  my  resolutions 
were,  blow  which  way  it  would,  I  would  be  gone  from  the  horrid 
place  where  I  was,  and  leave  the  rest  to  Fate. 

After  we  had  fished  some  time  and  caught  nothing,  for 
when  I  had  fish  on  my  hook  I  would  not  pull  them  up,  that 
he  might  not  see  them,  I  said  to  the  Moor,  "This  will  not  do; 
our  master  will  not  be  thus  served;  we  must  stand  farther  off." 
He,  thinking  no  harm,  agreed,  and  being  in  the  head  of  the 
boat  set  the  sails;  and  as  I  had  the  helm  I  run  the  boat  out 
near  a  league  farther,  and  then  brought  her  to  as  if  I  would 
fish ;  when  giving  the  boy  the  helm,  I  stepped  forward  to  where 
the  Moor  was,  and  making  as  if  I  stooped  for  something  be- 
hind him,  I  took  him  by  surprise  with  my  arm  under  his  waist, 
and  tossed  him  clear  overboard  into  the  sea.  He  rose  imme- 
diately, for  he  swam  like  a  cork,  and  called  to  me,  begged  to 
be  taken  in,  told  me  he  would  go  all  the  world  over  with  me. 
He  swam  so  strong  after  the  boat,  that  he  would  have  reached 
me  very  quickly,  there  being  but  little  wind;  upon  which  I 
stepped  into  the  cabin,  and  fetching  one  of  the  fowling-pieces, 
I  presented  it  at  him,  and  told  him  I  had  done  him  no  hurt,  and 
if  he  would  be  quiet  I  would  do  him  none.  "But,"  said  I,  "you 
swim  well  enough  to  reach  to  the  shore,  and  the  sea  is  calm; 
make  the  best  of  your  way  to  shore,  and  I  will  do  you  no 
harm;  but  if  you  come  near  the  boat  I'll  shoot  you  through  the 

[27] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

head,  for  I  am  resolved  to  have  my  liberty."  So  he  turned 
himself  about,  and  swam  for  the  shore,  and  I  make  no  doubt  but 
he  reached  it  with  ease,  for  he  was  an  excellent  swimmer. 

I  could  have  been  content  to  have  taken  this  Moor  with 
me,  and  have  drowned  the  boy,  but  there  was  no  venturing  to 
trust  him.  When  he  was  gone  I  turned  to  the  boy,  whom 
they  called  Xury,  and  said  to  him,  "Xury,  if  you  will  be  faith- 
ful to  me  I'll  make  you  a  great  man;  but  if  you  will  not  stroke 
5rour  face  to  be  true  to  me,"  that  is,  swear  by  Mahomet  and 
his  father's  beard,  "I  must  throw  you  into  the  sea  too."  The 
boy  smiled  in  my  face,  and  spoke  so  innocently,  that  I  could 
not  mistrust  him,  and  swore  to  be  faithful  to  me,  and  go  all 
over  the  world  with  me. 

While  I  was  in  view  of  the  Moor  who  was  swimming,  I 
stood  out  directly  to  sea  with  the  boat,  rather  stretching  to 
windward,  that  they  might  think  me  gone  toward  the  straits' 
mouth  (as  indeed  any  one  that  had  been  in  their  wits  must 
have  been  supposed  to  be) ;  for  who  would  have  supposed  we 
would  sail  on  to  the  southward  to  the  truly  barbarian  coast, 
where  whole  nations  of  negroes  were  sure  to  surround  us  with 
their  canoes,  and  destroy  us ;  where  we  could  ne'er  once  go  on 
shore  but  we  should  be  devoured  by  savage  beasts,  or  more 
merciless  savages  of  human  kind? 

But  as  soon  as  it  grew  dusk  in  the  evening,  I  changed  my 
course,  and  steered  directly  south  and  by  east,  bending  my 
course  a  little  toward  the  east,  that  I  might  keep  in  with  the 
shore ;  and  having  a  fair,  fresh  gale  of  wind,  and  a  smooth,  quiet 
sea,  I  made  such  sail  that  I  believed  by  the  next  day  at  three 

[28] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  I  first  made  the  land,  I  could  not 
be  less  than  150  miles  south  of  Sallee;  quite  beyond  the  Em- 
peror of  Morocco's  dominions,  or  indeed  of  any  other  king 
thereabouts,  for  we  saw  no  people. 

Yet  such  was  the  fright  I  had  taken  at  the  Moors,  and 
the  dreadful  apprehensions  I  had  of  falling  into  their  hands, 
that  I  would  not  stop,  or  go  on  shore,  or  come  to  anchor,  the 
wind  continuing  fair,  till  I  had  sailed  in  that  manner  five  days ; 
and  then  the  wind  shifting  to  the  southward,  I  concluded  also 
that  if  any  of  their  vessels  were  in  chase  of  me,  they  also  would 
now  give  over;  so  I  ventured  to  make  to  the  coast,  and  came 
to  an  anchor  in  the  mouth  of  a  little  river,  I  knew  not  what, 
or  where ;  neither  what  latitude,  what  country,  what  nation,  or 
what  river.  I  neither  saw,  or  desired  to  see,  any  people;  the 
principal  thing  I  wanted  was  fresh  water.  We  came  into  this 
creek  in  the  evening,  resolving  to  swim  to  shore  as  soon  as  it  was 
dark,  and  discover  the  country;  but  as  soon  as  it  was  quite 
dark  we  heard  such  dreadful  noises  of  the  barking,  roaring, 
and  howling  of  wild  creatures,  of  we  knew  not  what  kinds, 
that  the  poor  boy  was  ready  to  die  with  fear,  and  begged  of 
me  not  to  go  on  shore  till  day.  "Well,  Xury,"  said  I,  "then 
I  won't;  but  it  may  be  we  may  see  men  by  day,  who  will  be 
as  bad  to  us  as  those  lions."  "Then  we  give  them  the  shoot 
gun,"  said  Xury,  laughing;  "make  them  run  away."  Such 
English  Xury  spoke  by  conversing  among  us  slaves.  How- 
ever, I  was  glad  to  see  the  boy  so  cheerful,  and  I  gave  him 
a  dram  (out  of  our  patron's  case  of  bottles)  to  cheer  him  up. 
After  all,  Xury's  advice  was  good,  and  I  took  it;  we  dropped 

[29] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

our  little  anchor  and  lay  still  all  night.  I  say  still,  for  we 
slept  none;  for  in  two  or  three  hours  we  saw  vast  great  crea- 
tures (we  knew  not  what  to  call  them)  of  many  sorts  come 
down  to  the  sea-shore  and  run  into  the  water,  wallowing  and 
washing  themselves  for  the  pleasure  of  cooling  themselves;  and 
they  made  such  hideous  howlings  and  yellings,  that  I  never 
indeed  heard  the  like. 

Xury  was  dreadfully  frightened,  and  indeed  so  was  I  too; 
but  we  were  both  more  frightened  when  we  heard  one  of  these 
mighty  creatures  come  swimming  towards  our  boat;  we  could 
not  see  him,  but  we  might  hear  him  by  his  blowing  to  be  a 
monstrous  huge  and  furious  beast.  Xury  said  it  was  a  lion,  and 
it  might  be  so  for  aught  I  know ;  but  poor  Xury  cried  to  me  to 
weigh  the  anchor  and  row  away.  "No,"  says  I,  "Xury;  we  can 
slip  our  cable  with  the  buoy  to  it,  and  go  off  to  sea;  they 
cannot  follow  us  far."  I  had  no  sooner  said  so,  but  I  perceived 
the  creature  (whatever  it  was)  within  two  oars'  length,  which 
something  surprised  me ;  however,  I  immediately  stepped  to  the 
cabin  door,  and  taking  up  my  gun,  fired  at  him,  upon  which 
he  immediately  turned  about  and  swam  towards  the  shore 
again. 

But  it  is  impossible  to  describe  the  horrible  noises,  and 
hideous  cries  and  howlings,  that  were  raised,  as  well  upon 
the  edge  of  the  shore  as  higher  within  the  country,  upon  the 
noise  or  report  of  the  gun,  a  thing  I  have  some  reason  to 
believe  those  creatures  had  never  heard  before.  This  con- 
vinced me  that  there  was  no  going  on  shore  for  us  in  the  night 
upon  that  coast;  and  how  to  venture  on  shore  in  the  day  was 

[30] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

another  question  too ;  for  to  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  any 
of  the  savages,  had  been  as  bad  as  to  have  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  lions  and  tigers ;  at  least  we  were  equally  apprehensive 
of  the  danger  of  it. 

Be  that  as  it  would,  we  were  obliged  to  go  on  shore  some- 
where or  other  for  water,  for  we  had  not  a  pint  left  in  the  boat ; 
when  or  where  to  get  to  it,  was  the  point.  Xury  said  if  I  would 
let  him  go  on  shore  with  one  of  the  jars,  he  would  find  if  there 
was  any  water  and  bring  some  to  me.  I  asked  him  why  he 
should  go  ?  why  I  should  not  go  and  he  stay  in  the  boat  ?  The 
boy  answered  with  so  much  affection,  that  made  me  love  him 
ever  after.  Said  he,  "If  wild  mans  come,  they  eat  me,  you  go 
way."  "Well,  Xury,"  said  I,  "we  will  both  go;  and  if  the 
wild  mans  come,  we  will  kill  them,  they  shall  eat  neither  of 
us."  So  I  gave  Xury  a  piece  of  rusk  bread  to  eat,  and  a  dram 
out  of  our  patron's  case  of  bottles  which  I  mentioned  before; 
and  we  hauled  in  the  boat  as  near  the  shore  as  we  thought  was 
proper,  and  so  waded  to  shore,  carrying  nothing  but  our  arms 
and  two  jars  for  water. 

I  did  not  care  to  go  out  of  sight  of  the  boat,  fearing  the 
coming  of  canoes  with  savages  down  the  river;  but  the  boy 
seeing  a  low  place  about  a  mile  up  the  country,  rambled  to  it; 
and  by  and  by  I  saw  him  come  running  towards  me.  I  thought 
he  was  pursued  by  some  savage,  or  frightened  with  some  wild 
beast,  and  I  ran  towards  him  to  help  him;  but  when  I  came 
nearer  to  him,  I  saw  something  hanging  over  his  shoulders, 
which  was  a  creature  that  he  had  shot,  like  a  hare,  but  differ- 
ent in  color,  and  longer  legs.     However,  we  were  very  glad 

[81] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

of  it,  and  it  was  very  good  meat;  but  the  great  joy  that  poor 
Xury  came  with  was  to  tell  me  he  had  found  good  water,  and 
had  seen  no  wild  mans. 

But  we  found  afterwards  that  we  need  not  take  such  pains 
for  water,  for  a  little  higher  up  the  creek  where  we  were  we 
found  the  water  fresh  when  the  tide  was  out,  which  flowed  but  a 
little  way  up;  so  we  filled  our  jars,  and  feasted  on  the  hare  we 
had  killed,  and  prepared  to  go  on  our  way,  having  seen  no  foot- 
steps of  any  human  creature  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

As  I  had  been  one  voyage  to  this  coast  before,  I  knew  very 
well  that  the  islands  of  the  Canaries,  and  the  Cape  de  Verde 
Islands  also,  lay  not  far  off  from  the  coast.  But  as  I  had  no 
instruments  to  take  an  observation  to  know  what  latitude  we 
were  in,  and  did  not  exactly  know,  or  at  least  remember,  what 
latitude  they  were  in,  I  knew  not  where  to  look  for  them,  or 
when  to  stand  off  to  sea  towards  them ;  otherwise  I  might  now 
easily  have  found  some  of  these  islands.  But  my  hope  was, 
that  if  I  stood  along  this  coast  till  I  came  to  that  part  where 
the  English  traded,  I  should  find  some  of  their  vessels  upon 
their  usual  design  of  trade,  that  would  relieve  and  take  us  in. 

By  the  best  of  my  calculation,  that  place  where  I  now 
was  must  be  that  country  which,  lying  between  the  Emperor  of 
Morocco's  dominions  and  the  negroes,  lies  waste  and  unin- 
habited, except  by  wild  beasts ;  the  negroes  having  abandoned 
it  and  gone  farther  south  for  fear  of  the  Moors,  and  the  Moors 
not  thinking  it  worth  inhabiting,  by  reason  of  its  barrenness; 
and  indeed  both  forsaking  it  because  of  the  prodigious  numbers 
of  tigers,  lions,  leopards,  and  other  furious  creatures  which 

[32] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

harbor  there;  so  that  the  Moors  use  it  for  their  hunting  only, 
where  they  go  like  an  army,  two  or  three  thousand  men  at  a 
time ;  and  indeed  for  near  an  hundred  miles  together  upon  this 
coast  we  saw  nothing  but  a  waste  uninhabited  country  by  day, 
and  heard  nothing  but  howlings  and  roarings  of  wild  beasts  by 
night. 

Once  or  twice  in  the  daytime  I  thought  I  saw  the  Pico  of 
Teneriffe,  being  the  high  top  of  the  Mountain  Teneriffe  in 
the  Canaries,  and  had  a  great  mind  to  venture  out,  in  hopes  of 
reaching  thither;  but  having  tried  twice,  I  was  forced  in  again 
by  contrary  winds,  the  sea  also  going  too  high  for  my  little 
vessel ;  so  I  resolved  to  pursue  my  first  design,  and  keep  along 
the  shore. 

Several  times  I  was  obliged  to  land  for  fresh  water  after 
we  had  left  this  place ;  and  once  in  particular,  being  early  in  the 
morning,  we  came  to  an  anchor  under  a  little  point  of  land 
which  was  pretty  high ;  and  the  tide  beginning  to  flow,  we  lay 
still  to  go  farther  in.  Xury,  whose  eyes  were  more  about  him 
than  it  seems  mine  were,  called  softly  to  me,  and  told  me  that 
we  had  best  go  farther  off  the  shore;  "For,"  said  he,  "look, 
yonder  lies  a  dreadful  monster  on  the  side  of  that  hillock  fast 
asleep."  I  looked  where  he  pointed,  and  saw  a  dreadful  mon- 
ster indeed,  for  it  was  a  terrible  great  lion  that  lay  on  the 
side  of  the  shore,  under  the  shade  of  a  piece  of  the  hill  that 
hung  as  it  were  a  little  over  him.  "Xury,"  said  I,  "you  shall 
go  on  shore  and  kill  him."  Xury  looked  frightened,  and  said, 
"Me  kill!  he  eat  me  at  one  mouth";  one  mouthful  he  meant. 
However,  I  said  no  more  to  the  boy,  but  bade  him  lie  still,  and 

[33] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  took  our  biggest  gun,  which  was  almost  musket-bore,  and 
loaded  it  with  a  good  charge  of  powder,  and  with  two  slugs, 
and  laid  it  down ;  then  I  loaded  another  gun  with  two  bullets ; 
and  the  third  (for  we  had  three  pieces)  I  loaded  with  five 
smaller  bullets.  I  took  the  best  aim  I  could  with  the  first 
piece  to  have  shot  him  into  the  head,  but  he  lay  so  with  his 
leg  raised  a  little  above  his  nose,  that  the  slugs  hit  his  leg  about 
the  knee,  and  broke  the  bone.  He  started  up  growling  at  first, 
but  finding  his  leg  broke,  fell  down  again,  and  then  got  up 
upon  three  legs  and  gave  the  most  hideous  roar  that  ever  I 
heard.  I  was  a  little  surprised  that  I  had  not  hit  him  on  the 
head.  However,  I  took  up  the  second  piece  immediately,  and, 
though  he  began  to  move  off,  fired  again,  and  shot  him  into 
the  head,  and  had  the  pleasure  to  see  him  drop,  and  make  but 
little  noise,  but  lay  struggling  for  life.  Then  Xury  took  heart, 
and  would  have  me  let  him  go  on  shore.  "Well,  go,"  said  I ; 
so  the  boy  jumped  into  the  water,  and  taking  a  little  gun  in 
one  hand,  swam  to  shore  with  the  other  hand,  and  coming  close 
to  the  creature,  put  the  muzzle  of  the  piece  to  his  ear,  and 
shot  him  into  the  head  again,  which  despatched  him  quite. 

This  was  game  indeed  to  us,  but  this  was  no  food;  and  I 
was  very  sorry  to  lose  three  charges  of  powder  and  shot 
upon  a  creature  that  was  good  for  nothing  to  us.  However, 
Xury  said  he  would  have  some  of  him ;  so  he  comes  on  board, 
and  asked  me  to  give  him  the  hatchet.  "For  what,  Xury?" 
said  I.  "Me  cut  off  his  head,"  said  he.  However,  Xury 
could  not  cut  off  his  head,  but  he  cut  off  a  foot,  and  brought 
it  with  him,  and  it  was  a  monstrous  great  one. 

[34] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  bethought  myself,  however,  that  perhaps  the  skin  of  him 
might  one  way  or  other  be  of  some  value  to  us ;  and  I  resolved  to 
take  off  his  skin  if  I  could.  So  Xury  and  I  went  to  work  with 
him ;  but  Xury  was  much  the  better  workman  at  it,  for  I  knew 
very  ill  how  to  do  it.  Indeed,  it  took  us  up  both  the  whole  day, 
but  at  last  we  got  off  the  hide  of  him,  and  spreading  it  on  the 
top  of  our  cabin,  the  sun  effectually  dried  it  in  two  days'  time, 
and  it  afterwards  served  me  to  lie  upon. 

After  this  stop  we  made  on  to  the  southward  continually 
for  ten  or  twelve  days,  living  very  sparing  on  our  provisions, 
which  began  to  abate  very  much,  and  going  no  oftener  into 
the  shore  than  we  were  obliged  to  for  fresh  water.  My  design 
in  this  was  to  make  the  river  Gambia  or  Senegal — that  is  to  say, 
anywhere  about  the  Cape  de  Verde — where  I  was  in  hopes  to 
meet  with  some  European  ship;  and  if  I  did  not,  I  knew  not 
what  course  I  had  to  take,  but  to  seek  out  for  the  islands  or 
perish  there  among  the  negroes.  I  knew  that  all  the  ships  from 
Europe,  which  sailed  either  to  the  coast  of  Guinea  or  to  Brazil, 
or  to  the  East  Indies,  made  this  cape,  or  those  islands;  and  in  a 
word,  I  put  the  whole  of  my  fortune  upon  this  single  point, 
either  that  I  must  meet  with  some  ship,  or  must  perish. 

When  I  had  pursued  this  resolution  about  ten  days  longer, 
as  I  have  said,  I  began  to  see  that  the  land  was  inhabited;  and 
in  two  or  three  places,  as  we  sailed  by,  we  saw  people  stand 
upon  the  shore  to  look  at  us ;  we  could  also  perceive  they  were 
quite  black,  and  stark  naked.  I  was  once  inclined  to  have  gone 
on  shore  to  them ;  but  Xury  was  my  better  councilor,  and  said 
to  me,  "No  go,  no  go."     However,  I  hauled  in  nearer  the  shore 

[35] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

that  I  might  talk  to  them,  and  I  found  they  ran  along  the  shore 
by  me  a  good  way.  I  observed  they  had  no  weapons  in  their 
hands,  except  one,  who  had  a  long  slender  stick,  which  Xury 
said  was  a  lance,  and  that  they  would  throw  them  a  great  way 
with  good  aim.  So  I  kept  at  a  distance,  but  talked  with  them 
by  signs  as  well  as  I  could,  and  particularly  made  signs  for 
something  to  eat;  they  beckoned  to  me  to  stop  my  boat,  and 
that  they  would  fetch  me  some  meat.  Upon  this  I  lowered  the 
top  of  my  sail,  and  lay  by,  and  two  of  them  ran  up  into  the 
country,  and  in  less  than  half-an-hour  came  back,  and  brought 
with  them  two  pieces  of  dried  flesh  and  some  corn,  such  as  is 
the  produce  of  their  country;  but  we  neither  knew  what  the 
one  or  the  other  was.  However,  we  were  willing  to  accept  it, 
but  how  to  come  at  it  was  our  next  dispute,  for  I  was  not  for 
venturing  on  shore  to  them,  and  they  were  as  much  afraid  of 
us ;  but  they  took  a  safe  way  for  us  all,  for  they  brought  it  to 
the  shore  and  laid  it  down,  and  went  and  stood  a  great  way 
off  till  we  fetched  it  on  board,  and  then  came  close  to  us  again. 
We  made  signs  of  thanks  to  them,  for  we  had  nothing  to 
make  them  amends.  But  an  opportunity  offered  that  very  in- 
stant to  oblige  them  wonderfully;  for  while  we  were  lying  by 
the  shore  came  two  mighty  creatures,  one  pursuing  the  other 
(as  we  took  it)  with  great  fury  from  the  mountains  towards 
the  sea ;  whether  it  was  the  male  pursuing  the  female,  or  whether 
they  were  in  sport  or  in  rage,  we  could  not  tell,  any  more  than 
we  could  tell  whether  it  was  usual  or  strange,  but  I  believe  it 
was  the  latter:  because,  in  the  first  place,  those  ravenous  crea- 
tures seldom  appear  but  in  the  night ;  and  in  the  second  place, 

[86] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

we  found  the  people  terribly  frightened,  especially  the  women. 

The  man  that  had  the  lance  or  dart  did  not  fly  from  them  but 
the  rest  did ;  however,  as  the  two  creatures  ran  directly  into  the 
water,  they  did  not  seem  to  offer  to  fall  upon  any  of  the 
negroes,  but  plunged  themselves  into  the  sea,  and  swam  about, 
as  if  they  had  come  for  their  diversion.  At  last,  one  of  them 
began  to  come  nearer  our  boat  than  at  first  I  expected;  but 
I  lay  ready  for  him,  for  I  had  loaded  my  gun  with  all  possible 
expedition,  and  bade  Xury  load  both  the  others.  As  soon  as 
he  came  fairly  within  my  reach,  I  fired,  and  shot  him  directly 
into  the  head;  immediately  he  sunk  down  into  the  water,  but 
rose  instantly,  and  plunged  up  and  down,  as  if  he  was  strug- 
gling for  life,  and  so  indeed  he  was.  He  immediately  made  to 
the  shore;  but  between  the  wound,  which  was  his  mortal  hurt, 
and  the  strangling  of  the  water,  he  died  just  before  he  reached 
the  shore. 

It  is  impossible  to  express  the  astonishment  of  these  poor 
creatures,  at  the  noise  and  the  fire  of  my  gun;  some  of  them 
were  even  ready  to  die  for  fear,  and  fell  down  as  dead  with 
the  very  terror.  But  when  they  saw  the  creature  dead,  and 
sunk  in  the  water,  and  that  I  made  signs  to  them  to  come  to  the 
shore,  they  took  heart  and  came  to  the  shore,  and  began  to 
search  for  the  creature.  I  found  him  by  his  blood  staining  the 
water:  and  by  the  help  of  a  rope,  which  I  slung  round  him, 
and  gave  the  negroes  to  haul,  they  dragged  him  on  the  shore, 
and  found  that  it  was  a  most  curious  leopard,  spotted,  and 
fine  to  an  admirable  degree;  and  the  negroes  held  up  their 
hands  with  admiration,  to  think  what  I  had  killed  him  with. 

[37] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

The  other  creature,  frightened  with  the  flash  of  fire  and  the 
noise  of  the  gun,  swam  on  shore,  and  ran  up  directly  to  the 
mountains  from  whence  they  came;  nor  could  I,  at  that  dis- 
tance, know  what  it  was.  I  found  quickly  the  negroes  were 
for  eating  the  flesh  of  this  creature,  so  I  was  willing  to  have 
them  take  it  as  a  favor  from  me;  which  when  I  made  signs 
to  them  that  they  might  take  him,  they  were  very  thankful 
for.  Immediately  they  fell  to  work  with  him;  and  though 
they  had  no  knife,  yet,  with  a  sharpened  piece  of  wood,  they 
took  off  his  skin  as  readily,  and  much  more  readily  than  we 
could  have  done  with  a  knife.  They  offered  me  some  of  the 
flesh,  which  I  declined,  making  as  if  I  would  give  it  them,  but 
made  signs  for  the  skin,  which  they  gave  me  very  freely,  and 
brought  me  a  great  deal  more  of  their  provision,  which  though  I 
did  not  understand,  yet  I  accepted.  Then  I  made  signs  to  them 
for  some  water,  and  held  out  one  of  my  jars  to  them,  turning 
it  bottom  upward,  to  show  that  it  was  empty,  and  that  I 
wanted  to  have  it  filled.  They  called  immediately  to  some  of 
their  friends,  and  there  came  two  women,  and  brought  a  great 
vessel  made  of  earth,  and  burnt,  as  I  suppose,  in  the  sun;  this 
they  set  down  for  me,  as  before,  and  I  sent  Xury  on  shore  with 
my  jars,  and  filled  them  all  three.  The  women  were  as  stark 
naked  as  the  men. 

I  was  now  furnished  with  roots  and  corn,  such  as  it  was, 
and  water;  and  leaving  my  friendly  negroes,  I  made  forward 
for  about  eleven  daj^s  more,  without  offering  to  go  near  the 
shore,  till  I  saw  the  land  run  out  a  great  length  into  the  sea,  at 
about  the  distance  of  four  or  five  leagues  before  me;  and  the 

[38] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

sea  being  very  calm.  I  kept  a  large  offing,  to  make  this  point. 
At  length  doubling  the  point,  at  about  two  leagues  from  the 
land,  I  saw  plainly  land  on  the  other  side,  to  seaward;  then  I 
concluded,  as  it  was  most  certain  indeed,  that  this  was  the  Cape 
de  Verde,  and  those  the  islands,  called  from  thence  Cape  de 
Verde  Islands.  However,  they  were  at  a  great  distance,  and  I 
could  not  well  tell  what  I  had  best  to  do;  for  if  I  should  be 
taken  with  a  fresh  wind,  I  might  neither  reach  one  nor  other. 

In  this  dilemma,  as  I  was  very  pensive,  I  stepped  into  the 
cabin,  and  sat  me  down,  Xury  having  the  helm;  when,  on  a 
sudden,  the  boy  cried  out,  "Master,  master,  a  ship  with  a  sail!" 
and  the  foolish  boy  was  frightened  out  of  his  wits,  thinking  it 
must  needs  be  some  of  his  master's  ships  sent  to  pursue  us,  when 
I  knew  we  were  gotten  far  enough  out  of  their  reach.  I 
jumped  out  of  the  cabin,  and  immediately  saw  not  only  the 
ship,  but  what  she  was,  viz.,  that  it  was  a  Portuguese  ship,  and, 
as  I  thought,  was  bound  to  the  coast  of  Guinea,  for  negroes. 
But  when  I  observed  the  course  she  steered,  I  was  soon  con- 
vinced they  were  bound  some  other  way,  and  did  not  design 
to  come  any  nearer  to  the  shore ;  upon  which  I  stretched  out  to 
sea  as  much  as  I  could,  resolving  to  speak  with  them,  if  possi- 
ble. 

With  all  the  sail  I  could  make,  I  found  I  should  not  be 
able  to  come  in  their  way,  but  that  they  would  be  gone  by  be- 
fore I  could  make  any  signal  to  them ;  but  after  I  had  crowded 
to  the  utmost,  and  began  to  despair,  they,  it  seems,  saw  me  by 
the  help  of  their  perspective  glasses,  and  that  it  was  some 
European  boat,  which,  as  they  supposed,  must  belong  to  some 

[39] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

ship  that  was  lost,  so  they  shortened  sail  to  let  me  come  up. 

I  was  encouraged  with  this ;  and  as  I  had  my  patron's  flag  on 
board,  I  made  a  waft  of  it  to  them  for  a  signal  of  distress,  and 
fired  a  gun,  both  of  which  they  saw ;  for  they  told  me  they  saw 
the  smoke,  though  they  did  not  hear  the  gun.  Upon  these 
signals  they  very  kindly  brought  to,  and  lay  by  for  me ;  and  in 
about  three  hours'  time  I  came  up  with  them. 

They  asked  me  what  I  was,  in  Portuguese,  and  in  Spanish, 
and  in  French,  but  I  understood  none  of  them;  but  at  last  a 
Scots  sailor,  who  was  on  board,  called  to  me,  and  I  answered 
him,  and  told  him  I  was  an  Englishman,  that  I  had  made  my 
escape  out  of  slavery  from  the  Moors,  at  Sallee.  Then  they 
bade  me  come  on  board,  and  very  kindly  took  me  in,  and  all  my 
goods. 

It  was  an  inexpressible  joy  to  me,  that  any  one  will  be- 
lieve, that  I  was  thus  delivered,  as  I  esteemed  it,  from  such  a 
miserable,  and  almost  hopeless,  condition  as  I  was  in;  and  I 
immediately  offered  all  I  had  to  the  captain  of  the  ship,  as  a 
return  for  my  deliverance.  But  he  generously  told  me  he 
would  take  nothing  from  me,  but  that  all  I  had  should  be  de- 
livered safe  to  me  when  I  came  to  the  Brazils.  "For,"  says  he, 
"I  have  saved  your  life  on  no  other  terms  than  I  would  be 
glad  to  be  saved  myself;  and  it  may,  one  time  or  other,  be  my 
lot  to  be  taken  up  in  the  same  condition.  Besides,"  says  he, 
"when  I  carry  you  to  the  Brazils,  so  great  a  way  from  your 
own  country,  if  I  should  take  from  you  what  you  have,  you  will 
be  starved  there,  and  then  I  only  take  away  that  life  I  have 
given.     No,  no,  Seignior  Inglese,"  says  he,  "Mr.  Englishman, 

[40] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  will  carry  you  thither  in  charity,  and  those  things  will  help 
you  to  buy  your  subsistence  there,  and  your  passage  home 
again." 


[41] 


CHAPTER  IV 

He  Settles  in  the  Brazils  as  a  Planter — Makes  another  Voyage  and 

is  Shipwrecked 

S  he  was  charitable  in  his  proposal,  so  he  was  just  in 
the  performance  to  a  tittle ;  for  he  ordered  the  seamen 
that  none  should  offer  to  touch  anything  I  had;  then 
he  took  everything  into  his  own  possession,  and  gave  me  back 
an  exact  inventory  of  them,  that  I  might  have  them,  even  so 
much  as  my  three  earthen  jars. 

As  to  my  boat,  it  was  a  very  good  one,  and  that  he  saw, 
and  told  me  he  would  buy  it  of  me  for  the  ship's  use,  and  asked 
me  what  I  would  have  for  it  ?  I  told  him  he  had  been  so  gener- 
ous to  me  in  everything,  that  I  could  not  offer  to  make  any 
price  for  the  boat,  but  left  it  entirely  to  him;  upon  which  he 
told  me  he  would  give  me  a  note  of  his  hand  to  pay  me  eighty 
pieces  of  eight  for  it  at  Brazil,  and  when  it  came  there,  if  any 
one  offered  to  give  more,  he  would  make  it  up.  He  offered 
me  also  sixty  pieces  of  eight  more  for  my  boy,  Xury,  which  I 
was  loth  to  take;  not  that  I  was  not  willing  to  let  the  captain 
have  him,  but  I  was  very  loth  to  sell  the  poor  boy's  liberty,  who 
had  assisted  me  so  faithfully  in  procuring  my  own.  However, 
when  I  let  him  know  my  reason,  he  owned  it  to  be  just,  and 
offered  me  this  medium,  that  he  would  give  the  boy  an  obliga- 

[42] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

tion  to  set  him  free  in  ten  years  if  he  turned  Christian.  Upon 
this,  and  Xury  saying  he  was  willing  to  go  to  him,  I  let  the 
captain  have  him. 

We  had  a  very  good  voyage  to  the  Brazils,  and  arrived 
in  the  Bay  de  Todos  los  Santos,  or  All  Saints'  Bay,  in  about 
twenty-two  days  after.  And  now  I  was  once  more  delivered 
from  the  most  miserable  of  all  conditions  of  life;  and  what  to 
do  next  with  myself  I  was  now  to  consider. 

The  generous  treatment  the  captain  gave  me,  I  can  never 
enough  remember.  He  would  take  nothing  of  me  for  my  pass- 
age, gave  me  twenty  ducats  for  the  leopard's  skin,  and  forty 
for  the  lion's  skin,  which  I  had  in  my  boat,  and  caused  every- 
thing I  had  in  the  ship  to  be  punctually  delivered  me;  and 
what  I  was  willing  to  sell  he  bought,  such  as  the  case  of  bottles, 
two  of  my  guns,  and  a  piece  of  the  lump  of  beeswax — for  I 
had  made  candles  of  the  rest;  in  a  word,  I  made  about  220 
pieces  of  eight  of  all  my  cargo,  and  with  this  stock  I  went  on 
shore  in  the  Brazils. 

I  had  not  been  long  here,  but  being  recommended  to  the 
house  of  a  good  honest  man  like  himself,  who  had  an  ingeino 
as  they  call  it,  that  is,  a  plantation  and  a  sugar-house,  I  lived 
with  him  some  time,  and  acquainted  myself  by  that  means  with 
the  manner  of  their  planting  and  making  of  sugar;  and  see- 
ing how  well  the  planters  lived,  and  how  they  grew  rich  sud- 
denly, I  resolved,  if  I  could  get  a  license  to  settle  there,  I  would 
turn  planter  among  them,  resolving  in  the  meantime  to  find 
out  some  way  to  get  my  money  which  I  left  in  London  remitted 
to  me.     To  this  purpose,  getting  a  kind  of  a  letter  of  natural- 

[43] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

ization,  I  purchased  as  much  land  that  was  uncured  as  my 
money  would  reach,  and  formed  a  plan  for  my  plantation  and 
settlement,  and  such  a  one  as  might  be  suitable  to  the  stock 
which  I  proposed  to  myself  to  receive  from  England. 

I  had  a  neighbor,  a  Portuguese  of  Lisbon,  but  born  of 
English  parents,  whose  name  was  Wells,  and  in  much  such 
circumstances  as  I  was.  I  call  him  my  neighbor,  because  his 
plantation  lay  next  to  mine,  and  we  went  on  very  sociably 
together.  My  stock  was  but  low,  as  well  as  his ;  and  we  rather 
planted  for  food  than  anything  else,  for  about  two  years. 
However,  we  began  to  increase,  and  our  land  began  to  come 
into  order ;  so  that  the  third  year  we  planted  some  tobacco,  and 
made  each  of  us  a  large  piece  of  ground  ready  for  planting 
canes  in  the  year  to  come.  But  we  both  wanted  help;  and 
now  I  found  more  than  before,  I  had  done  wrong  in  parting 
with  my  boy  Xury. 

But  alas!  for  me  to  do  wrong  that  never  did  right  was  no 
great  wonder.  I  had  no  remedy  but  to  go  on.  I  was  gotten 
into  an  employment  quite  remote  to  my  genius,  and  directly 
contrary  to  the  life  I  delighted  in,  and  for  which  I  forsook  my 
father's  house,  and  broke  through  all  his  good  advice;  nay,  I 
was  coming  into  the  very  middle  station,  or  upper  degree  of 
low  life,  which  my  father  advised  me  to  before;  and  which,  if 
I  resolved  to  go  on  with,  I  might  as  well  have  stayed  at  home, 
and  never  have  fatigued  myself  in  the  world  as  I  had  done. 
And  I  used  often  to  say  to  myself,  I  could  have  done  this  as 
well  in  England  among  my  friends,  as  have  gone  5,000  miles 
off  to  do  it  among  strangers  and  savages,  in  a  wilderness,  and  at 

[44] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

such  a  distance  as  never  to  hear  from  any  part  of  the  world 
that  had  the  least  knowledge  of  me. 

In  this  manner  I  used  to  look  upon  my  condition  with 
the  utmost  regret.  I  had  nobody  to  converse  with,  but  now  and 
then  this  neighbor;  no  work  to  be  done,  but  by  the  labor  of 
my  hands;  and  I  used  to  say,  I  lived  just  like  a  man  cast  away 
upon  some  desolate  island,  that  had  nobody  there  but  himself. 
But  how  just  has  it  been!  and  how  should  all  men  reflect,  that 
when  they  compare  their  present  conditions  with  others  that 
are  worse,  Heaven  may  oblige  them  to  make  the  exchange, 
and  be  convinced  of  their  former  felicity  by  their  experience; 
— I  say,  how  just  has  it  been,  that  the  truly  solitary  life  I  re- 
flected on  in  an  island  of  mere  desolation  should  be  my  lot, 
who  had  so  often  unjustly  compared  it  with  the  life  which 
I  then  led,  in  which,  had  I  continued,  I  had  in  all  probability 
been  exceeding  prosperous  and  rich. 

I  was  in  some  degree  settled  in  my  measures  for  carrying 
on  the  plantation  before  my  kind  friend,  the  captain  of  the 
ship  that  took  me  up  at  sea,  went  back;  for  the  ship  remained 
there  in  providing  his  loading,  and  preparing  for  his  voyage, 
near  three  months;  when,  telling  him  what  little  stock  I  had 
left  behind  me  in  London,  he  gave  me  this  friendly  and  sin- 
cere advice:  "Seignior  Inglese,"  says  he,  for  so  he  always 
called  me,  "if  you  will  give  me  letters,  and  a  procuration  here 
in  form  to  me,  with  orders  to  the  person  who  has  your  money 
in  London  to  send  your  effects  to  Lisbon,  to  such  persons  as  I 
shall  direct,  and  in  such  goods  as  are  proper  for  this  countiy, 
I  will  bring  you  the  produce  of  them,  God  willing,  at  my  re- 

[45] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

turn.  But  since  human  affairs  are  all  subject  to  changes  and 
disaster,  I  would  have  you  give  orders  but  for  one  hundred 
pounds  sterling,  which,  you  say,  is  half  your  stock,  and  let  the 
hazard  be  run  for  the  first;  so  that  if  it  come  safe,  you  may 
order  the  rest  the  same  way ;  and  if  it  miscarry,  you  may  have 
the  other  half  to  have  recourse  to  for  your  supply." 

This  was  so  wholesome  advice,  and  looked  so  friendly,  that 
I  could  not  but  be  convinced  it  was  the  best  course  I  could 
take;  so  I  accordingly  prepared  letters  to  the  gentlewoman 
with  whom  I  had  left  my  money,  and  a  procuration  to  the 
Portuguese  captain,  as  he  desired. 

I  wrote  the  English  captain's  widow  a  full  account  of  all 
my  adventures;  my  slavery,  escape,  and  how  I  had  met  with 
the  Portuguese  captain  at  sea,  the  humanity  of  his  behavior, 
and  in  what  condition  I  was  now  in,  with  all  other  necessary  di- 
rections for  my  supply.  And  when  this  honest  captain  came 
to  Lisbon,  he  found  means,  by  some  of  the  English  merchants 
there,  to  send  over  not  the  order  only,  but  a  full  account  of 
my  story  to  a  merchant  at  London,  who  represented  it  ef- 
fectually to  her;  whereupon,  she  not  only  delivered  the  money, 
but  out  of  her  own  pocket  sent  the  Portuguese  captain  a  very 
handsome  present  for  his  humanity  and  charity  to  me. 

The  merchant  in  London  vesting  this  hundred  pounds  in 
English  goods,  such  as  the  captain  had  written  for,  sent  them 
directly  to  him  at  Lisbon,  and  he  brought  them  all  safe  to  me 
to  the  Brazils;  among  which,  without  my  direction  (for  I  was 
too  young  in  my  business  to  think  of  them) ,  he  had  taken  care 
to  have  all  sorts  of  tools,  iron-work,  and  utensils  necessary 

[46] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

for   my  plantation,   and   which   were   of   great  use   to   me. 

When  this  cargo  arrived,  I  thought  my  fortune  made,  for 
I  was  surprised  with  joy  of  it;  and  my  good  steward,  the 
captain,  had  laid  out  the  five  pounds,  which  my  friend  had  sent 
him  for  a  present  for  himself,  to  purchase  and  bring  me  over 
a  servant  under  bond  for  six  years'  service,  and  would  not  ac- 
cept of  any  consideration,  except  a  little  tobacco,  which  I 
would  have  him  accept,  being  of  my  own  produce. 

Neither  was  this  all;  but  my  goods  being  all  English  manu- 
factures, such  as  cloth,  stuffs,  baize,  and  things  particularly 
valuable  and  desirable  in  the  country,  I  found  means  to  sell 
them  to  a  very  great  advantage ;  so  that  I  may  say  I  had  more 
than  four  times  the  value  of  my  first  cargo,  and  was  now  in- 
finitely beyond  my  poor  neighbor,  I  mean  in  the  advancement 
of  my  plantation ;  for  the  first  thing  I  did,  I  bought  me  a  negro 
slave,  and  an  European  servant  also;  I  mean  another  besides 
that  which  the  captain  brought  me  from  Lisbon. 

But  as  abused  prosperity  is  oftentimes  made  the  very  means 
of  our  greatest  adversity,  so  was  it  with  me.  I  went  on  the 
next  year  with  great  success  in  my  plantation.  I  raised  fifty 
great  rolls  of  tobacco  on  my  own  ground,  more  than  I 
had  disposed  of  for  necessaries  among  my  neighbors ;  and  these 
fifty  rolls,  being  each  of  above  a  hundredweight,  were  well 
cured,  and  laid  by  against  the  return  of  the  fleet  from  Lisbon. 
And  now,  increasing  in  business  and  in  wealth,  my  head  be- 
gan to  be  full  of  projects  and  undertakings  beyond  my  reach, 
such  as  are,  indeed,  often  the  ruin  of  the  best  heads  in  business. 
Had  I  continued  in  the  station  I  was  now  in,  I  had  room 

[47] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

for  all  the  happy  things  to  have  yet  befallen  me  for  which  my 
father  so  earnestly  recommended  a  quiet,  retired  life,  and  of 
which  he  had  so  sensibly  described  the  middle  station  of  life 
to  be  full  of.  But  other  things  attended  me,  and  I  was  still  to 
be  the  wilful  agent  of  all  my  own  miseries ;  and  particularly,  to 
increase  my  fault  and  double  the  reflections  upon  myself,  which 
in  my  future  sorrows  I  should  have  leisure  to  make.  All  these 
miscarriages  were  procured  by  my  apparent  obstinate  adhering 
to  my  foolish  inclination  of  wandering  abroad,  and  pursuing 
that  inclination  in  contradiction  to  the  clearest  views  of  doing 
myself  good  in  a  fair  and  plain  pursuit  of  those  prospects,  and 
those  measures  of  life,  which  Nature  and  Providence  con- 
curred to  present  me  with,  and  to  make  my  duty. 

As  I  had  once  done  thus  in  nry  breaking  away  from  my 
parents,  so  I  could  not  be  content  now,  but  I  must  go  and 
leave  the  happy  view  I  had  of  being  a  rich  and  thriving  man 
in  my  new  plantation,  only  to  pursue  a  rash  and  immoderate 
desire  of  rising  faster  than  the  nature  of  the  thing  admitted; 
and  thus  I  cast  myself  down  again  into  the  deepest  gulf  of 
human  misery  that  ever  man  fell  into,  or  perhaps  could  be 
consistent  with  life  and  a  state  of  health  in  the  world. 

To  come  then,  by  the  just  degrees  to  the  particulars  of  this 
part  of  my  story.  You  may  suppose,  that  having  now  lived 
almost  four  years  in  the  Brazils,  and  beginning  to  thrive  and 
prosper  very  well  upon  my  plantation,  I  had  not  only  learned 
the  language,  but  had  contracted  acquaintance  and  friend- 
ship among  my  fellow-planters,  as  well  as  among  the  mer- 
chants at  St.  Salvador,  which  was  our  port,  and  that  in  my 

[48] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

discourses  among  them  I  had  frequently  given  them  an  ac- 
count of  my  two  voyages  to  the  coast  of  Guinea,  the  manner 
of  trading  with  the  negroes  there,  and  how  easy  it  was  to  pur- 
chase upon  the  coast  for  trifles — such  as  beads,  toys,  knives, 
scissors,  hatchets,  bits  of  glass,  and  the  like — not  only  gold 
dust,  Guinea  grains,  elephants'  teeth,  etc.,  but  negroes,  for  the 
service  of  the  Brazils,  in  great  numbers. 

The}r  listened  always  very  attentively  to  my  discourses  on 
these  heads,  but  especially  to  that  part  which  related  to  the 
buying  negroes ;  which  was  a  trade,  at  that  time,  not  only  not 
far  entered  into,  but,  as  far  as  it  was,  had  been  carried  on  by 
the  assiento,  or  permission,  of  the  Kings  of  Spain  and  Por- 
tugal, and  engrossed  in  the  public,  so  that  few  negroes  were 
bought,  and  those  excessive  dear. 

It  happened,  being  in  company  with  some  merchants  and 
planters  of  my  acquaintance,  and  talking  of  those  things  very 
earnestly,  three  of  them  came  to  me  the  next  morning,  and 
told  me  they  had  been  musing  very  much  upon  what  I  had 
discoursed  with  them  of,  the  last  night,  and  they  came  to  make 
a  secret  proposal  to  me.  And  after  enjoining  me  secrecy,  they 
told  me  that  they  had  a  mind  to  fit  out  a  ship  to  go  to  Guinea ; 
that  they  had  all  plantations  as  well  as  I,  and  were  straitened 
for  nothing  so  much  as  servants;  that  as  it  was  a  trade  that 
could  not  be  carried  on  because  they  could  not  publicly  sell 
the  negroes  when  they  came  home,  so  they  desired  to  make  but 
one  voyage,  to  bring  the  negroes  on  shore  privately,  and  divide 
them  among  their  own  plantations ;  and,  in  a  word,  the  question 
was,  whether  I  would  go  as  their  supercargo  in  the  ship,  to 

[49] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

manage  the  trading  part  upon  the  coast  of  Guinea;  and  they 
offered  me  that  I  should  have  my  equal  share  of  the  negroes 
without  providing  any  part  of  the  stock. 

This  was  a  fair  proposal,  it  must  be  confessed,  had  it  been 
made  to  any  one  that  had  not  had  a  settlement  and  plantation 
of  his  own  to  look  after,  which  was  in  a  fair  way  of  coming  to 
be  very  considerable,  and  with  a  good  stock  upon  it.  But  for 
me,  that  was  thus  entered  and  established,  and  had  nothing 
to  do  but  go  on  as  I  had  begun,  for  three  or  four  years  more, 
and  to  have  sent  for  the  other  hundred  pounds  from  England ; 
and  who,  in  that  time,  and  with  that  little  addition,  could  scarce 
have  failed  of  being  worth  three  or  four  thousand  pounds 
sterling,  and  that  increasing  too — for  me  to  think  of  such  a 
voyage,  was  the  most  preposterous  thing  that  ever  man,  in 
such  circumstances,  could  be  guilty  of. 

But  I,  that  was  born  to  be  my  own  destroyer,  could  no 
more  resist  the  offer  than  I  could  restrain  my  first  rambling 
designs,  when  my  father's  good  counsel  was  lost  upon  me.  In 
a  word,  I  told  them  I  would  go  with  all  my  heart,  if  they  would 
undertake  to  look  after  my  plantation  in  my  absence,  and 
would  dispose  of  it  to  such  as  I  should  direct  if  I  miscarried. 
This  they  all  engaged  to  do,  and  entered  into  writings  or 
covenants  to  do  so;  I  made  a  formal  will,  disposing  of  my 
plantation  and  effects,  in  case  of  my  death ;  making  the  captain 
of  the  ship  that  had  saved  my  life,  as  before,  nry  universal 
heir,  but  obliging  him  to  dispose  of  my  effects  as  I  had  directed 
in  my  will;  one-half  of  the  produce  being  to  himself,  and  the 
other  to  be  shipped  to  England. 

[50] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

In  short,  I  took  all  possible  caution  to  preserve  my  effects, 
and  keep  up  my  plantation.  Had  I  used  half  as  much  prud- 
ence to  have  looked  into  my  own  interest,  and  have  made  a 
judgment  of  what  I  ought  to  have  done  and  not  to  have  done, 
I  had  certainly  never  gone  away  from  so  prosperous  an  un- 
dertaking, leaving  all  the  probable  views  of  a  thriving  cir- 
cumstance, and  gone  upon  a  voyage  to  sea,  attended  with  all  its 
common  hazards,  to  say  nothing  of  the  reasons  I  had  to  ex- 
pect particular  misfortunes  to  myself. 

But  I  was  hurried  on,  and  obeyed  blindly  the  dictates  of 
my  fancy  rather  than  my  reason.  And  accordingly,  the  ship 
being  fitted  out,  and  the  cargo  furnished,  and  all  things  done 
as  by  agreement  by  my  partners  in  the  voyage,  I  went  on 
board  in  an  evil  hour,  the  first  of  September,  1659,  being 
the  same  day  eight  years  that  I  went  from  my  father  and 
mother  at  Hull,  in  order  to  act  the  rebel  to  their  authority,  and 
the  fool  to  my  own  interest. 

Our  ship  was  about  120  tons  burden,  carried  six  guns  and 
fourteen  men,  besides  the  master,  his  boy,  and  myself.  We 
had  on  board  no  large  cargo  of  goods,  except  of  such  toys  as 
were  fit  for  our  trade  with  the  negroes — such  as  beads,  bits  of 
glass,  shells,  and  odd  trifles,  especially  little  looking-glasses, 
knives,  scissors,  hatchets,  and  the  like. 

The  same  day  I  went  on  board  we  set  sail,  standing  away 
to  the  northward  upon  our  own  coast,  with  design  to  stretch 
over  for  the  African  coast,  when  they  came  about  10  or  12 
degrees  of  northern  latitude,  which,  it  seems,  was  the  manner 
of  their  course  in  those  days.     We  had  very  good  weather,  only 

[51] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

excessive  hot,  all  the  way  upon  our  own  coast,  till  we  came  to 
the  height  of  Cape  St.  Augustino,  from  whence,  keeping  far- 
ther off  at  sea,  we  lost  sight  of  land,  and  steered  as  if  we  were 
bound  for  the  Isle  Fernando  de  Noronha,  holding  our  course 
N.E.  by  N.,  and  leaving  those  isles  on  the  east.  In  this  course 
we  passed  the  line  in  about  twelve  days'  time,  and  were,  by 
our  last  observation,  in  7  degrees  22  minutes  northern  lati- 
tude, when  a  violent  tornado,  or  hurricane,  took  us  quite  out 
of  our  knowledge.  It  began  from  the  south-east,  came  about 
to  the  north-west,  and  then  settled  into  the  north-east,  from 
whence  it  blew  in  such  a  terrible  manner,  that  for  twelve  days 
together  we  could  do  nothing  but  drive,  and,  scudding  away 
before  it,  let  it  carry  us  wherever  fate  and  the  fury  of  the 
winds  directed;  and  during  these  twelve  days,  I  need  not 
say  that  I  expected  every  day  to  be  swallowed  up,  nor,  in- 
deed, did  any  in  the  ship  expect  to  save  their  lives. 

In  this  distress  we  had,  besides  the  terror  of  the  storm,  one 
of  our  men  die  of  the  fever,  and  one  man  and  the  boy  washed 
overboard.  About  the  twelfth  day,  the  weather  abating  a 
little,  the  master  made  an  observation  as  well  as  he  could,  and 
found  that  he  was  in  about  11  degrees  north  latitude,  but  that 
he  was  22  degrees  of  longitude  difference  west  from  Cape  St. 
Augustino;  so  that  he  found  he  was  gotten  upon  the  coast 
of  Guiana,  or  the  north  part  of  Brazil,  be}Tond  the  river 
Amazon,  toward  that  of  the  river  Orinoco,  commonly  called 
the  Great  River,  and  began  to  consult  with  me  what  course 
he  should  take,  for  the  ship  was  leaky  and  very  much  disabled, 
and  he  was  going  directly  back  to  the  coast  of  Brazil. 

[52] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  was  positively  against  that;  and  looking  over  the  charts 
of  the  sea-coast  of  America  with  him,  we  concluded  there  was 
no  inhabited  country  for  us  to  have  recourse  to  till  we  came 
within  the  circle  of  the  Caribbee  Islands,  and  therefore  resolved 
to  stand  away  for  Barbadoes,  which  by  keeping  off  at  sea,  to 
avoid  the  indraft  of  the  Bay  or  Gulf  of  Mexico,  we  might 
easily  perform,  as  we  hoped,  in  about  fifteen  days'  sail;  whereas 
we  could  not  possibly  make  our  voyage  to  the  coast  of  Africa 
without  some  assistance,  both  to  our  ship  and  to  ourselves. 

With  this  design  we  changed  our  course,  and  steered  away 
N.W.  by  W.  in  order  to  reach  some  of  our  English  islands, 
where  I  hoped  for  relief;  but  our  voyage  was  otherwise  deter- 
mined; for  being  in  the  latitude  of  12  degrees  18  minutes,  a 
second  storm  came  upon  us,  which  carried  us  away  with  the 
same  impetuosity  westward,  and  drove  us  so  out  of  the  very 
way  of  all  human  commerce,  that  had  all  our  lives  been  saved, 
as  to  the  sea,  we  were  rather  in  danger  of  being  devoured  by 
savages  than  ever  returning  to  our  own  country. 

In  this  distress,  the  wind  still  blowing  very  hard,  one  of 
our  men  early  in  the  morning  cried  out,  "Land!"  and  we  had 
no  sooner  ran  out  of  our  cabin  to  look  out,  in  hopes  of  seeing 
whereabouts  in  the  world  we  were,  but  the  ship  struck  upon 
a  sand,  and  in  a  moment,  her  motion  being  so  stopped,  the 
sea  broke  over  her  in  such  a  manner,  that  we  expected  we 
should  all  have  perished  immediately;  and  we  were  immedi- 
ately driven  into  our  close  quarters,  to  shelter  us  from  the  very 
foam  and  spray  of  the  sea. 

It  is  not  easy  for  any  one,  who  has  not  been  in  the  like  condi- 

[531 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

tion,  to  describe  or  conceive  the  consternation  of  men  in  such 
circumstances.  We  knew  nothing  where  we  were,  or  upon 
what  land  it  was  we  were  driven,  whether  an  island  or  the 
main,  whether  inhabited  or  not  inhabited;  and  as  the  rage  of 
the  wind  was  still  great,  though  rather  less  than  at  first,  we 
could  not  so  much  as  hope  to  have  the  ship  hold  many  minutes 
without  breaking  in  pieces,  unless  the  winds,  by  a  kind  of 
miracle,  should  turn  immediately  about.  In  a  word,  we  sat 
looking  one  upon  another,  and  expecting  death  every  moment, 
and  every  man  acting  accordingly,  as  preparing  for  another 
world;  for  there  was  little  or  nothing  more  for  us  to  do  in 
this.  That  which  was  our  present  comfort,  and  all  the  com- 
fort we  had,  was  that,  contrary  to  our  expectation,  the  ship  did 
not  break  yet,  and  that  the  master  said  the  wind  began  to 
abate. 

Now,  though  we  thought  that  the  wind  did  a  little  abate, 
yet  the  ship  having  thus  struck  upon  the  sand,  and  sticking  too 
fast  for  us  to  expect  her  getting  off,  we  were  in  a  dreadful 
condition  indeed,  and  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  think  of  saving 
our  lives  as  well  as  we  could.  We  had  a  boat  at  our  stern  just 
before  the  storm,  but  she  was  first  staved  by  dashing  against 
the  ship's  rudder,  and  in  the  next  place,  she  broke  away,  and 
either  sunk,  or  was  driven  off  to  sea,  so  there  was  no  hope  from 
her;  we  had  another  boat  on  board,  but  how  to  get  her  off  into 
the  sea  was  a  doubtful  thing.  However,  there  was  no  room  to 
debate,  for  we  fancied  the  ship  would  break  in  pieces  every 
minute,  and  some  told  us  she  was  actually  broken  already. 

In  this  distress,  the  mate  of  our  vessel  lays  hold  of  the 

[54] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

boat,  and  with  the  help  of  the  rest  of  the  men  they  got  her 
slung  over  the  ship's  side;  and  getting  all  into  her,  let  go,  and 
committed  ourselves,  being  eleven  in  number,  to  God's  mercy, 
and  the  wild  sea;  for  though  the  storm  was  abated  consider- 
ably, yet  the  sea  went  dreadful  high  upon  the  shore,  and  might 
well  be  called  den  wild  zee,  as  the  Dutch  call  the  sea  in  a  storm. 

And  now  our  case  was  very  dismal  indeed,  for  we  all  saw 
plainly  that  the  sea  went  so  high,  that  the  boat  could  not  live, 
and  that  we  should  be  inevitably  drowned.  As  to  making  sail, 
we  had  none ;  nor,  if  we  had,  could  we  have  done  anything  with 
it;  so  we  worked  at  the  oar  toward  the  land,  though  with 
heavy  hearts,  like  men  going  to  execution,  for  we  all  knew 
that  when  the  boat  came  nearer  the  shore,  she  would  be  dashed 
in  a  thousand  pieces  by  the  breach  of  the  sea.  However,  we 
committed  our  souls  to  God  in  the  most  earnest  manner;  and 
the  wind  driving  us  towards  the  shore,  we  hastened  our  de- 
struction with  our  own  hands,  pulling  as  well  as  we  could 
towards  land. 

What  the  shore  was,  whether  rock  or  sand,  whether  steep  or 
shoal,  we  knew  not;  the  only  hope  that  could  rationally  give 
us  the  least  shadow  of  expectation  was,  if  we  may  happen  into 
some  Bay  or  Gulf,  or  the  mouth  of  some  river,  where  by  great 
chance  we  might  have  run  our  boat  in,  or  got  under  the  lee 
of  the  land,  and  perhaps  made  smooth  water.  But  there  was 
nothing  of  this  appeared ;  but  as  we  made  nearer  and  nearer  the 
shore,  the  land  looked  more  frightful  than  the  sea. 

After  we  had  rowed,  or  rather  driven,  about  a  league  and 
a  half,  as  we  reckoned  it,  a  raging  wave,  mountain-like,  came 

[55] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

rolling  astern  of  us,  and  plainly  bade  us  expect  the  coup  de 
grace.  In  a  word,  it  took  us  with  such  a  fury  that  it  overset 
the  boat  at  once;  and  separating  us,  as  well  from  the  boat  as 
from  one  another,  gave  us  not  time  hardly  to  say,  "O  God!" 
for  we  were  all  swallowed  up  in  a  moment. 

Nothing  can  describe  the  confusion  of  thought  which  I  felt 
when  I  sunk  into  the  water ;  for  though  I  swam  very  well,  yet 
I  could  not  deliver  myself  from  the  waves  so  as  to  draw  breath, 
till  that  wave  having  driven  me,  or  rather  carried  me,  a  vast 
way  on  towards  the  shore,  and  having  spent  itself,  went  back, 
and  left  me  upon  the  land  almost  dry,  but  half  dead  with  the 
water  I  took  in.  I  had  so  much  presence  of  mind  as  well  as 
breath  left,  that  seeing  myself  nearer  the  mainland  than  I  ex- 
pected, I  got  upon  my  feet,  and  endeavored  to  make  on  to- 
wards the  land  as  fast  as  I  could,  before  another  wave  should 
return  and  take  me  up  again.  But  I  soon  found  it  was  im- 
possible to  avoid  it ;  for  I  saw  the  sea  come  after  me  as  high  as 
a  great  hill,  and  as  furious  as  an  enemy,  which  I  had  no  means 
or  strength  to  contend  with.  My  business  was  to  hold  my 
breath,  and  raise  myself  upon  the  water,  if  I  could;  and  so,  by 
swimming,  to  preserve  my  breathing,  and  pilot  myself  towards 
the  shore,  if  possible ;  my  greatest  concern  now  being,  that  the 
sea,  as  it  would  carry  me  a  great  way  towards  the  shore  when 
it  came  on,  might  not  carry  me  back  again  with  it  when  it  gave 
back  towards  the  sea. 

The  wave  that  came  upon  me  again,  buried  me  at  once 
20  or  30  feet  deep  in  its  own  body,  and  I  could  feel  myself 
carried  with  a  mighty  force  and  swiftness  towards  the  shore  a 

[56] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

very  great  way;  but  I  held  my  breath,  and  assisted  myself  to 
swim  still  forward  with  all  my  might.  I  was  ready  to 
burst  with  holding  my  breath,  when,  as  I  felt  myself  rising  up, 
so,  to  my  immediate  relief,  I  found  my  head  and  hands  shoot 
out  above  the  surface  of  the  water;  and  though  it  was  not  two 
seconds  of  time  that  I  could  keep  myself  so,  yet  it  relieved  me 
greatly,  gave  me  breath  and  new  courage.  I  was  covered  again 
with  water  a  good  while,  but  not  so  long  but  I  held  it  out ;  and 
finding  the  water  had  spent  itself,  and  began  to  return,  I  struck 
forward  against  the  return  of  the  waves,  and  felt  the  ground 
again  with  my  feet.  I  stood  still  a  few  moments  to  recover 
breath,  and  till  the  water  went  from  me,  and  then  took  to  my 
heels  and  ran  with  what  strength  I  had  farther  towards  the 
shore.  But  neither  would  this  deliver  me  from  the  fury  of  the 
sea,  which  came  pouring  in  after  me  again,  and  twice  more  I 
was  lifted  up  by  the  waves  and  carried  forwards  as  before,  the 
shore  being  very  flat. 

The  last  time  of  these  two  had  well  near  been  fatal  to  me ; 
for  the  sea,  having  hurried  me  along  as  before,  landed  me,  or 
rather  dashed  me,  against  a  piece  of  a  rock  and  that  with  such 
force  as  it  left  me  senseless,  and  indeed  helpless,  as  to  my  own 
deliverance;  for  the  blow  taking  my  side  and  breast  beat  the 
breath  as  it  were  quite  out  of  my  body;  and  had  it  returned 
again  immediately,  I  must  have  been  strangled  in  the  water. 
But  I  recovered  a  little  before  the  return  of  the  waves,  and 
seeing  I  should  be  covered  again  with  the  water,  I  resolved  to 
hold  fast  by  a  piece  of  the  rock,  and  so  to  hold  my  breath,  if 
possible,  till  the  wave  went  back.     Now  as  the  waves  were  not 

[57] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

so  high  as  at  first,  being  near  land,  I  held  my  hold  till  the  wave 
abated  and  then  fetched  another  run,  which  brought  me  so 
near  the  shore,  that  the  next  wave  though  it  went  over  me  yet 
did  not  swallow  me  up  as  to  carry  me  away,  and  the  next  run 
I  took  I  got  to  the  mainland,  where  to  my  great  comfort  I 
clambered  up  the  cliffs  of  the  shore,  and  sat  me  down  upon 
the  grass,  free  from  danger  and  quite  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
water. 

I  was  now  landed,  and  safe  on  shore,  and  began  to  look  up 
and  thank  God  that  my  life  was  saved  in  a  case  wherein  there 
was  some  minutes  before  scarce  any  room  to  hope.  I  believe 
it  is  impossible  to  express  to  the  life  what  the  ecstasies  and 
transports  of  the  soul  are  when  it  is  so  saved,  as  I  may  say, 
out  of  the  very  grave ;  and  I  do  not  wonder  now  at  that  custom, 
viz.,  that  when  a  malefactor  who  has  the  halter  about  his  neck 
is  tied  up  and  just  going  to  be  turned  off  and  has  a  reprieve 
brought  to  him — I  say,  I  do  not  wonder  that  they  bring  a  sur- 
geon with  it,  to  let  his  blood  that  every  moment  they  tell  him 
of  it,  that  the  surprise  may  not  drive  the  animal  spirits  from 
his  heart,  and  overwhelm  him: 

For  sudden  joys,  like  griefs,   confound   at  first. 

I  walked  about  on  the  shore,  lifting  up  my  hands,  and  my 
whole  being,  as  I  may  say,  wrapt  up  in  the  contemplation  of 
my  deliverance,  making  a  thousand  gestures  and  motions  which 
I  cannot  describe,  reflecting  upon  all  my  comrades  that  were 
drowned,  and  that  there  should  not  be  one  soul  saved  but  my- 
self; for,  as  for  them,  I  never  saw  them  afterwards,  or  any 

[58] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

sign  of  them  except  three  of  their  hats,  one  cap,  and  two  shoes 
that  were  not  fellows. 

I  cast  my  eyes  to  the  stranded  vessel  when  the  breach  and 
froth  of  the  sea  being  so  big,  I  could  hardly  see  it,  it  lay  so  far 
off,  and  considered,  Lord!  how  was  it  possible  I  could  get  on 
shore  ? 

After  I  had  solaced  my  mind  with  the  comfortable  part  of 
my  condition  I  began  to  look  round  me  to  see  what  kind  of 
place  I  was  in,  and  what  was  next  to  be  done,  and  I  soon  found 
my  comforts  abate,  and  that  in  a  word  I  had  a  dreadful  deliv- 
erance ;  for  I  was  wet,  had  no  clothes  to  shift  me,  nor  anything 
to  eat  or  drink  to  comfort  me,  neither  did  I  see  any  prospect 
before  me  but  that  of  perishing  with  hunger,  or  being  devoured 
by  wild  beasts;  and  that  which  was  particularly  afflicting  to 
me  was  that  I  had  no  weapon  either  to  hunt  and  kill  any  crea- 
ture for  my  sustenance,  or  to  defend  myself  against  any  other 
creature  that  might  desire  to  kill  me  for  theirs.  In  a  word,  I 
had  nothing  about  me  but  a  knife,  a  tobacco-pipe,  and  a  little 
tobacco  in  a  box.  This  was  all  my  provision;  and  this  threw 
me  into  terrible  agonies  of  mind  that  for  a  while  I  ran  about 
like  a  madman.  Night  coming  upon  me,  I  began,  with  a  heavy 
heart,  to  consider  what  would  be  my  lot  if  there  were  any 
ravenous  beasts  in  that  country,  seeing  at  night  they  always 
come  abroad  for  their  prey. 

All  the  remedy  that  offered  to  my  thoughts  at  that  time 
was,  to  get  up  into  a  thick  bushy  tree  like  a  fir,  but  thorny, 
which  grew  near  me,  and  where  I  resolved  to  sit  all  night,  and 
consider  the  next  day  what  death  I  should  die,  for  as  yet  I  saw 

[59] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

no  prospect  of  life.  I  walked  about  a  furlong  from  the  shore, 
to  see  if  I  could  find  any  fresh  water  to  drink,  which  I  did,  to 
my  great  joy;  and  having  drank,  and  put  a  little  tobacco  in  my 
mouth  to  prevent  hunger,  I  went  to  the  tree,  and  getting  up 
into  it,  endeavored  to  place  myself  so,  as  that  if  I  should  sleep 
I  might  not  fall ;  and  having  cut  me  a  short  stick,  like  a  trun- 
cheon, for  my  defence,  I  took  up  my  lodging,  and  having  been 
excessively  fatigued,  I  fell  fast  asleep,  and  slept  as  comfort- 
ably as,  I  believe,  few  could  have  done  in  my  condition,  and 
found  myself  the  most  refreshed  with  it  that  I  think  I  ever 
was  on  such  an  occasion. 


[60] 


CHAPTER  V 

Robinson  Finds  Himself  on  a  Desolate  Island  and  Procures  a  Stock 
of  Articles  from  the  Wreck — He  Constructs  His  Habitation 

WHEN  I  waked  it  was  broad  day,  the  weather  clear, 
and  the  storm  abated,  so  that  the  sea  did  not  rage 
and  swell  as  before.  But  that  which  surprised  me 
most  was,  that  the  ship  was  lifted  off  in  the  night  from  the 
sand  where  she  lay,  by  the  swelling  of  the  tide,  and  was  driven 
up  almost  as  far  as  the  rock  which  I  first  mentioned,  where  I 
had  been  so  bruised  by  the  dashing  me  against  it.  This  being 
within  about  a  mile  from  the  shore  where  I  was,  and  the  ship 
seeming  to  stand  upright  still,  I  wished  myself  on  board,  that, 
at  least,  I  might  have  some  necessary  things  for  my  use. 

When  I  came  down  from  my  apartment  in  the  tree  I 
looked  about  me  again  and  the  first  thing  I  found  was  the 
boat,  which  lay  as  the  wind  and  the  sea  had  tossed  her  up 
upon  the  land,  about  two  miles  on  my  right  hand.  I  walked 
as  far  as  I  could  upon  the  shore  to  have  got  to  her,  but  found 
a  neck  or  inlet  of  water  between  me  and  the  boat,  which  was 
about  half  a  mile  broad ;  so  I  came  back  for  the  present,  being 
more  intent  upon  getting  at  the  ship,  where  I  hoped  to  find 
something  for  my  present  subsistence. 

A  little  after  noon  I  found  the  sea  very  calm,  and  the  tide 
ebbed  so  far  out,  that  I  could  come  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile 

[61] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

of  the  ship;  and  here  I  found  a  fresh  renewing  of  my  grief, 
for  I  saw  evidently,  that  if  we  had  kept  on  board  we  had  been 
all  safe,  that  is  to  say,  we  had  all  got  safe  on  shore,  and  I  had 
not  been  so  miserable  as  to  be  left  entirely  destitute  of  all  com- 
fort and  company  as  I  now  was.  This  forced  tears  from  my 
eyes  again;  but  as  there  was  little  relief  in  that,  I  resolved,  if 
possible,  to  get  to  the  ship ;  so  I  pulled  off  my  clothes,  for  the 
weather  was  hot  to  extremity,  and  took  the  water.  But  when 
I  came  to  the  ship  my  difficulty  was  still  greater  to  know  how 
to  get  on  board;  for  as  she  lay  aground,  and  high  out  of  the 
water,  there  was  nothing  within  my  reach  to  lay  hold  of.  I 
swam  round  her  twice,  and  the  second  time  I  spied  a  small  piece 
of  a  rope,  which  I  wondered  I  did  not  see  at  first,  hang  down 
by  the  fore-chains  so  low,  as  that  with  great  difficulty  I  got  hold 
of  it,  and  by  the  help  of  that  rope  got  up  into  the  forecastle 
of  the  ship.  Here  I  found  that  the  ship  was  bulged,  and  had  a 
great  deal  of  water  in  her  hold,  but  that  she  lay  so  on  the  side 
of  a  bank  of  hard  sand,  or  rather  earth,  that  her  stern  lay  lifted 
up  upon  the  bank,  and  her  head  low  almost  to  the  water.  By 
this  means  all  her  quarter  was  free,  and  all  that  was  in  that  part 
was  dry ;  for  vou  may  be  sure  my  first  work  was  to  search  and 
to  see  what  was  spoiled  and  what  was  free.  And  first  I  found 
that  all  the  ship's  provisions  were  dry  and  untouched  by  the 
water ;  and  being  very  well  disposed  to  eat,  I  went  to  the  bread- 
room  and  filled  my  pockets  with  biscuit,  and  ate  it  as  1  went 
about  other  things,  for  I  had  no  time  to  lose.  I  also  found 
some  rum  in  the  great  cabin,  of  which  I  took  a  large  dram,  and 
which  I  had  indeed  need  enough  of,  to  spirit  me  for  what  was 

[62] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

before  me.  Now  I  wanted  nothing  but  a  boat,  to  furnish  my- 
self with  many  things  which  I  foresaw  would  be  very  necessary 
to  me. 

It  was  in  vain  to  sit  still  and  wish  for  what  was  not  to  be 
had,  and  this  extremity  roused  my  application.  We  had  sev- 
eral spare  yards,  and  two  or  three  large  spars  of  wood,  and  a 
spare  top-mast  or  two  in  the  ship.  I  resolved  to  fall  to  work 
with  these,  and  flung  as  man}^  of  them  overboard  as  I  could 
manage  for  their  weight,  tying  every  one  with  a  rope,  that  they 
might  not  drive  away.  When  this  was  done  I  went  down  the 
ship's  side,  and  pulling  them  to  me,  I  tied  four  of  them  fast 
together  at  both  ends  as  well  as  I  could,  in  the  form  of  a  raft; 
and  laying  two  or  three  short  pieces  of  plank  upon  them  cross- 
ways,  I  found  I  could  walk  upon  it  very  well,  but  that  it  was 
not  able  to  bear  any  great  weight,  the  pieces  being  too  light. 
So  I  went  to  work,  and  with  the  carpenter's  saw  I  cut  a  spare 
top -mast  into  three  lengths,  and  added  them  to  my  raft,  with 
a  great  deal  of  labor  and  pains ;  but  hope  of  furnishing  myself 
with  the  necessaries  encouraged  me  to  go  beyond  what  I  should 
have  been  able  to  have  done  upon  another  occasion. 

My  raft  was  now  strong  enough  to  bear  any  reasonable 
weight.  My  next  care  was  what  to  load  it  with,  and  how  to 
preserve  what  I  laid  upon  it  from  the  surf  of  the  sea;  but  I 
was  not  long  considering  this.  I  first  laid  all  the  planks  or 
boards  upon  it  that  I  could  get,  and  having  considered  well 
what  I  most  wanted,  I  first  got  three  of  the  seamen's  chests 
which  I  had  broken  open  and  emptied,  and  lowered  them  down 
upon  my  raft.     The  first  of  these  I  filled  with  provisions,  viz., 

[63] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

bread,  rice,  three  Dutch  cheeses,  five  pieces  of  dried  goat's  flesh, 
which  we  lived  much  upon,  and  a  little  remainder  of  European 
corn  which  had  been  laid  by  for  some  fowls  which  we  brought 
to  sea  with  us,  but  the  fowls  were  killed.  There  had  been  some 
barley  and  wheat  together,  but,  to  my  great  disappointment,  I 
found  afterwards  that  the  rats  had  eaten  or  spoiled  it  all.  As 
for  liquors  I  found  several  cases  of  bottles  belonging  to  our 
skipper  in  which  were  some  cordial  waters,  and,  in  all,  about 
five  or  six  gallons  of  rack.  These  I  stowed  by  themselves, 
there  being  no  need  to  put  them  into  the  chest,  nor  no  room 
for  them.  While  I  was  doing  this,  I  found  the  tide  began  to 
flow,  though  very  calm,  and  I  had  the  mortification  to  see  my 
coat,  shirt,  and  waistcoast,  which  I  had  left  on  shore  upon  the 
sand,  swim  away;  as  for  my  breeches,  which  were  only  linen, 
and  open-kneed,  I  swam  on  board  in  them  and  my  stockings. 
However,  this  put  me  upon  rummaging  for  clothes,  of  which  I 
found  enough,  but  took  no  more  than  I  wanted  for  present 
use;  for  I  had  other  things  which  my  eye  was  more  upon,  as 
first  tools  to  work  with  on  shore ;  and  it  was  after  long  search- 
ing that  I  found  out  the  carpenter's  chest,  which  was  indeed  a 
very  useful  prize  to  me,  and  much  more  valuable  than  a  ship- 
loading  of  gold  would  have  been  at  that  time.  I  got  it  down 
to  my  raft,  even  whole  as  it  was,  without  losing  time  to  look 
into  it,  for  I  knew  in  general  what  it  contained. 

My  next  care  was  for  some  ammunition  and  arms;  there 
were  two  very  good  fowling-pieces  in  the  great  cabin,  and  two 
pistols;  these  I  secured  first,  with  some  powder-horns,  and  a 
small  bag  of  shot,  and  two  old  rusty  swords.     I  knew  there 

[64] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

were  three  barrels  of  powder  in  the  ship,  but  knew  not  where 
our  gunner  had  stowed  them;  but  with  much  search  I  found 
them,  two  of  them  dry  and  good,  the  third  had  taken  water; 
those  two  I  got  to  my  raft  with  the  arms.  And  now  I  thought 
myself  pretty  well  freighted,  and  began  to  think  how  I  should 
get  to  shore  with  them,  having  neither  sail,  oar,  nor  rudder; 
and  the  least  capful  of  wind  would  have  overset  all  my  navi- 
gation. 

I  had  three  encouragements.  1.  A  smooth,  calm  sea.  2. 
The  tide  rising  and  setting  in  to  the  shore.  3.  What  little 
wind  there  was  blew  me  towards  the  land.  And  thus,  having 
found  two  or  three  broken  oars  belonging  to  the  boat,  and  be- 
sides the  tools  which  were  in  the  chest,  I  found  two  saws,  an 
axe,  and  a  hammer,  and  with  this  cargo  I  put  to  sea.  For  a 
mile  or  thereabouts  my  raft  went  very  well,  only  that  I  found 
it  drive  a  little  distant  from  the  place  where  I  had  landed 
before,  by  which  I  perceived  that  there  was  some  indraft  of  the 
water,  and  consequently  I  hoped  to  find  some  creek  or  river 
there,  which  I  might  make  use  of  as  a  port  to  get  to  land  with 
my  cargo. 

As  I  imagined,  so  it  was ;  there  appeared  before  me  a  little 
opening  of  the  land,  and  I  found  a  strong  current  of  the  tide 
set  into  it,  so  I  guided  my  raft  as  well  as  I  could  to  keep  in  the 
middle  of  the  stream.  But  here  I  had  like  to  have  suffered  a 
second  shipwreck,  which,  if  I  had,  I  think  verily  would  have 
broke  my  heart ;  for  knowing  nothing  of  the  coast  my  raft  ran 
aground  at  one  end  of  it  upon  a  shoal,  and  not  being  aground 
at  the  other  end,  it  wanted  but  a  little  that  all  my  cargo  had 

[65] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

slipped  off  towards  that  end  that  was  afloat,  and  so  fallen  into 
the  water.  I  did  my  utmost  by  setting  my  back  against  the 
chests  to  keep  them  in  their  places,  but  could  not  thrust  off  the 
raft  with  all  my  strength,  neither  durst  I  stir  from  the  posture 
I  was  in,  but  holding  up  the  chests  with  all  my  might,  stood  in 
that  manner  near  half  an  hour,  in  which  time  the  rising  of  the 
water  brought  me  a  little  more  upon  a  level;  and  a  little  after, 
the  water  still  rising,  my  raft  floated  again,  and  I  thrust  her  off 
with  the  oar  I  had  into  the  channel,  and  then  driving  up  higher, 
I  at  length  found  myself  in  the  mouth  of  a  little  river,  with 
land  on  both  sides,  and  a  strong  current  or  tide  running  up. 
I  looked  on  both  sides  for  a  proper  place  to  get  to  shore,  for  I 
was  not  willing  to  be  driven  too  high  up  the  river,  hoping  in 
time  to  see  some  ship  at  sea,  and  therefore  resolved  to  place 
myself  as  near  the  coast  as  I  could. 

At  length  I  spied  a  little  cove  on  the  right  shore  of  the 
creek,  to  which,  with  great  pain  and  difficulty,  I  guided  my 
raft,  and  at  last  got  so  near,  as  that,  reaching  ground  with  my 
oar,  I  could  thrust  her  directly  in;  but  here  I  had  like  to  have 
dipped  all  my  cargo  in  the  sea  again;  for  that  shore  lying 
pretty  steep,  that  is  to  say,  sloping,  there  was  no  place  to  land 
but  where  one  end  of  my  float,  if  it  run  on  shore,  would  lie  so 
high  and  the  other  sink  lower,  as  before,  that  it  would  endanger 
my  cargo  again.  All  that  I  could  do  was  to  wait  till  the  tide 
was  at  the  highest,  keeping  the  raft  with  my  oar  like  an  anchor 
to  hold  the  side  of  it  fast  to  the  shore,  near  a  flat  piece  of 
ground,  which  I  expected  the  water  would  flow  over ;  and  so  it 
did.     As  soon  as  I  found  water  enough,  for  my  raft  drew 

[66] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

about  a  foot  of  water,  I  thrust  her  on  upon  that  flat  piece  of 
ground,  and  there  fastened  or  moored  her  by  sticking  my  two 
broken  oars  into  the  ground ;  one  on  one  side  near  one  end,  and 
one  on  the  other  side  near  the  other  end ;  and  thus  I  lay  till  the 
water  ebbed  away,  and  left  my  raft  and  all  my  cargo  safe  on 
shore. 

My  next  work  was  to  view  the  country  and  seek  a  proper 
place  for  my  habitation,  and  where  to  stow  my  goods  to  secure 
them  from  whatever  might  happen.  Where  I  was,  I  yet  knew 
not ;  whether  on  the  continent,  or  on  an  island ;  whether  inhab- 
ited, or  not  inhabited;  whether  in  danger  of  wild  beasts,  or  not. 
There  was  a  hill,  not  above  a  mile  from  me,  which  rose  up  very 
steep  and  high,  and  which  seemed  to  overtop  some  other  hills, 
which  lay  as  in  a  ridge  from  it,  northward.  I  took  out  one  of 
the  fowling-pieces  and  one  of  the  pistols,  and  a  horn  of  powder; 
and  thus  armed,  I  travelled  for  discovery  up  to  the  top  of  that 
hill,  where,  after  I  had  with  great  labor  and  difficulty  got  to 
the  top,  I  saw  my  fate  to  my  great  affliction,  viz.,  that  I  was  on 
an  island  environed  every  way  with  the  sea,  no  land  to  be  seen, 
except  some  rocks  which  lajr  a  great  way  off,  and  two  small 
islands  less  than  this,  which  lay  about  three  leagues  to  the  west. 

I  found  also  that  the  island  I  was  on  was  barren,  and,  as  I 
saw  good  reason  to  believe,  uninhabited,  except  by  wild  beasts, 
of  whom,  however,  I  saw  none;  yet  I  saw  abundance  of  fowls, 
but  knew  not  their  kinds;  neither,  when  I  killed  them,  could  I 
tell  what  was  fit  for  food,  and  what  not.  At  my  coming  back, 
I  shot  at  a  great  bird  which  I  saw  sitting  upon  a  tree  on  the 
side  of  a  great  wood.     I  believe  it  was  the  first  gun  that  had 

[67] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

been  fired  there  since  the  creation  of  the  world.  I  had  no 
sooner  fired,  but  from  all  the  parts  of  the  wood  there  arose  an 
innumerable  number  of  fowls  of  many  sorts,  making  a  con- 
fused screaming,  and  crying  every  one  according  to  his  usual 
note ;  but  not  one  of  them  of  any  kind  that  I  knew.  As  for  the 
creature  I  killed,  I  took  it  to  be  a  kind  of  a  hawk,  its  color  and 
beak  resembling  it,  but  had  no  talons  or  claws  more  than  com- 
mon ;  its  flesh  was  carrion,  and  fit  for  nothing. 

Contented  with  this  discovery,  I  came  back  to  my  raft, 
and  fell  to  work  to  bring  my  cargo  on  shore,  which  took  me  the 
rest  of  that  day;  and  what  to  do  with  myself  at  night,  I  knew 
not,  nor  indeed  where  to  rest;  for  I  was  afraid  to  lie  down  on 
the  ground,  not  knowing  but  some  wild  beast  might  devour  me, 
though,  as  I  afterwards  found,  there  was  really  no  need  for 
those  fears.  However,  as  well  as  I  could,  I  barricaded  myself 
round  with  the  chests  and  boards  that  I  had  brought  on  shore, 
and  made  a  kind  of  a  hut  for  that  night's  lodging;  as  for  food, 
I  yet  saw  not  which  way  to  supply  myself,  except  that  I  had 
seen  two  or  three  creatures  like  hares  run  out  of  the  woods 
where  I  shot  the  fowl. 

I  now  began  to  consider,  that  I  might  yet  get  a  great  many 
things  out  of  the  ship,  which  would  be  useful  to  me,  and  par- 
ticularly some  of  the  rigging  and  sails,  and  such  other  things  as 
might  come  to  land ;  and  I  resolved  to  make  another  voyage  on 
board  the  vessel,  if  possible.  And  as  I  knew  that  the  first 
storm  that  blew  must  necessarily  break  her  all  in  pieces,  I  re- 
solved to  set  all  other  things  apart  till  I  got  everything  out  of 
the  ship  that  I  could  get.     Then  I  called  a  council,  that  is  to 

[68] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

say,  in  my  thoughts,  whether  I  should  take  back  the  raft,  but 
this  appeared  impracticable ;  so  I  resolved  to  go  as  before,  when 
the  tide  was  down;  and  I  did  so,  only  that  I  stripped  before  I 
went  from  my  hut,  having  nothing  on  but  a  checkered  shirt  and 
a  pair  of  linen  drawers,  and  a  pair  of  pumps  on  my  feet. 

I  got  on  board  the  ship  as  before,  and  prepared  a  second 
raft,  and  having  had  experience  of  the  first,  I  neither  made  this 
so  unwieldy,  nor  loaded  it  so  hard;  but  yet  I  brought  away 
several  things  very  useful  to  me;  as,  first,  in  the  carpenter's 
store  I  found  two  or  three  bags  full  of  nails  and  spikes,  a  great 
screw-jack,  a  dozen  or  two  of  hatchets,  and  above  all  that  most 
useful  thing  called  a  grindstone.  All  these  I  secured,  together 
with  several  things  belonging  to  the  gunner,  particularly  two 
or  three  iron  crows,  and  two  barrels  of  musket  bullets,  seven 
muskets,  and  another  fowling-piece,  with  some  small  quantity 
of  powder  more;  a  large  bag  full  of  small-shot,  and  a  great 
roll  of  sheet  lead;  but  this  last  was  so  heavy,  I  could  not  hoist 
it  up  to  get  it  over  the  ship's  side.  Besides  these  things,  I  took 
all  the  men's  clothes  that  I  could  find,  and  a  spare  fore-top  sail, 
a  hammock,  and  some  bedding,  and  with  this  I  loaded  my  sec- 
ond raft,  and  brought  them  all  safe  on  shore,  to  my  very  great 
comfort. 

I  was  under  some  apprehensions  during  my  absence  from 
the  land,  that  at  least  my  provisions  might  be  devoured  on 
shore;  but  when  I  came  back,  I  found  no  sign  of  any  visitor, 
only  there  sat  a  creature  like  a  wild  cat  upon  one  of  the  chests, 
which,  when  I  came  towards  it,  ran  away  a  little  distance,  and 
then  stood  still.     She  sat  very  composed  and  unconcerned,  and 

[69] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

looked  full  in  my  face,  as  if  she  had  a  mind  to  be  acquainted 
with  me.  I  presented  my  gun  at  her ;  but  as  she  did  not  under- 
stand it,  she  was  perfectly  unconcerned  at  it,  nor  did  she  offer 
to  stir  away;  upon  which  I  tossed  her  a  bit  of  biscuit,  though, 
by  the  way,  I  was  not  very  free  of  it,  for  my  store  was  not 
great.  However,  I  spared  her  a  bit,  I  say,  and  she  went  to  it, 
smelled  of  it,  and  ate  it  and  looked  (as  pleased)  for  more;  but 
I  thanked  her  and  could  spare  no  more,  so  she  marched  off. 

Having  got  my  second  cargo  on  shore,  though  I  was  fain 
to  open  the  barrels  of  powder  and  bring  them  by  parcels,  for 
they  were  too  heavy,  being  large  casks,  I  went  to  work  to  make 
me  a  little  tent  with  the  sail  and  some  poles  which  I  cut  for  that 
purpose;  and  into  this  tent  I  brought  everything  that  I  knew 
would  spoil  either  with  rain  or  sun;  and  I  piled  all  the  empty 
chests  and  casks  up  in  a  circle  round  the  tent,  to  fortify  it  from 
any  sudden  attempt,  either  from  man  or  beast. 

When  I  had  done  this  I  blocked  up  the  door  of  the  tent 
with  some  boards  within,  and  an  empty  chest  set  up  on  end 
without ;  and  spreading  one  of  the  beds  upon  the  ground,  laying 
my  two  pistols  just  at  my  head,  and  my  gun  at  length  by  me,  I 
went  to  bed  for  the  first  time,  and  slept  very  quietly  all  night, 
for  I  was  very  weary  and  heavy;  for  the  night  before  I  had 
slept  little,  and  had  labored  very  hard  all  day,  as  well  to  fetch 
all  those  things  from  the  ship,  as  to  get  them  on  shore. 

I  had  the  biggest  magazine  of  all  kinds  now  that  ever  was 
laid  up,  I  believe,  for  one  man ;  but  I  was  not  satisfied  still,  for 
while  the  ship  sat  upright  in  that  posture,  I  thought  I  ought 
to  get  everything  out  of  her  that  I  could.     So  every  day  at  low 

[70] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

water  I  went  on  board,  and  brought  away  something  or  other ; 
but,  particularly,  the  third  time  I  went  I  brought  away  as  much 
of  the  rigging  as  I  could,  as  also  all  the  small  ropes  and  rope- 
twine  I  could  get,  with  a  piece  of  spare  canvas,  which  was  to 
mend  the  sails  upon  occasion,  the  barrel  of  wet  gunpowder;  in 
a  word,  I  brought  away  all  the  sails  first  and  last,  only  that  I 
was  fain  to  cut  them  in  pieces,  and  bring  as  much  at  a  time  as 
I  could;  for  they  were  no  more  useful  to  be  sails,  but  as  mere 
canvas  only. 

But  that  which  comforted  me  more  still  was,  that  at  last  of 
all,  after  I  had  made  five  or  six  such  voyages  as  these,  and 
thought  I  had  nothing  more  to  expect  from  the  ship  that  was 
worth  my  meddling  with ;  I  say,  after  all  this,  I  found  a  great 
hogshead  of  bread,  and  three  large  runlets  of  rum  or  spirits  and 
a  box  of  sugar,  and  a  barrel  of  fine  flour;  this  was  surprising  to 
me,  because  I  had  given  over  expecting  any  more  provisions, 
except  what  was  spoilt  by  the  water.  I  soon  emptied  the  hogs- 
head of  that  bread,  and  wrapped  it  up  parcel  by  parcel  in  pieces 
of  the  sails,  which  I  cut  out ;  and,  in  a  word,  I  got  all  this  safe 
on  shore  also. 

The  next  day  I  made  another  voyage.  And  now,  having 
plundered  the  ship  of  what  was  portable  and  fit  to  hand  out, 
I  began  with  the  cables;  and  cutting  the  great  cable  into  pieces, 
such  as  I  could  move,  I  got  two  cables  and  a  hawser  on  shore, 
with  all  the  iron-work  I  could  get;  and  having  cut  down  the 
sprit-sail-yard,  and  the  mizzen-yard,  and  everything  I  could  to 
make  a  large  raft,  I  loaded  it  with  all  those  heavy  goods,  and 
came  away.     But  my  good  luck  began  now  to  leave  me;  for 

[71] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

this  raft  was  so  unwieldy,  and  so  overladen,  that  after  I  was 
entered  the  little  cove  where  I  had  landed  the  rest  of  my  goods, 
not  being  able  to  guide  it  so  handily  as  I  did  the  other,  it  over- 
set, and  threw  me  and  all  my  cargo  into  the  water.  As  for 
myself,  it  was  no  great  harm,  for  I  was  near  the  shore ;  but  as 
to  my  cargo,  it  was  great  part  of  it  lost,  especially  the  iron, 
which  I  expected  would  have  been  of  great  use  to  me.  How- 
ever, when  the  tide  was  out  I  got  most  of  the  pieces  of  cable 
ashore,  and  some  of  the  iron,  though  with  infinite  labor ;  for  I 
was  fain  to  dip  for  it  into  the  water,  a  work  which  fatigued  me 
very  much.  After  this  I  went  every  day  on  board,  and 
brought  away  what  I  could  get. 

I  had  been  now  thirteen  days  on  shore,  and  had  been  eleven 
times  on  board  the  ship ;  in  which  time  I  had  brought  away  all 
that  one  pair  of  hands  could  well  be  supposed  capable  to  bring, 
though  I  believe  verily,  had  the  calm  weather  held,  I  should 
have  brought  away  the  whole  ship  piece  by  piece.  But  pre- 
paring the  twelfth  time  to  go  on  board,  I  found  the  wind  begin 
to  rise.  However,  at  low  water  I  went  on  board,  and  though 
I  thought  I  had  rummaged  the  cabin  so  effectually  as  that 
nothing  more  could  be  found,  yet  I  discovered  a  locker  with 
drawers  in  it,  in  one  of  which  I  found  two  or  three  razors,  and 
one  pair  of  large  scissors,  with  some  ten  or  a  dozen  of  good 
knives  and  forks;  in  another,  I  found  about  thirty-six  pounds 
value  in  money,  some  European  coin,  some  Brazil,  some  pieces 
of  eight,  some  gold,  some  silver. 

I  smiled  to  myself  at  the  sight  of  this  money.  "O  drug!" 
said  I  aloud,  "what  art  thou  good  for?     Thou  art  not  worth 

[72] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

to  me,  no,  not  the  taking  off  of  the  ground ;  one  of  those  knives 
is  worth  all  this  heap.  I  have  no  manner  of  use  for  thee;  even 
remain  where  thou  art,  and  go  to  the  bottom  as  a  creature 
whose  life  is  not  worth  saving."  However,  upon  second 
thoughts,  I  took  it  away;  and  wrapping  all  this  in  a  piece  of 
canvas,  I  began  to  think  of  making  another  raft ;  but  while  I 
was  preparing  this,  I  found  the  sky  overcast,  and  the  wind 
began  to  rise,  and  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  it  blew  a  fresh  gale 
from  the  shore.  It  presently  occurred  to  me  that  it  was  in 
vain  to  pretend  to  make  a  raft  with  the  wind  off  shore,  and  that 
it  was  my  business  to  be  gone  before  the  tide  of  flood  began, 
otherwise  I  might  not  be  able  to  reach  the  shore  at  all.  Ac- 
cordingly I  let  myself  down  into  the  water,  and  swam  across 
the  channel,  which  lay  between  the  ship  and  the  sands,  and  even 
that  with  difficulty  enough,  partly  with  the  weight  of  the 
things  I  had  about  me,  and  partly  the  roughness  of  the  water ; 
for  the  wind  rose  very  hastily,  and  before  it  was  quite  high 
water  it  blew  a  storm. 

But  I  was  gotten  home  to  my  little  tent,  where  I  lay  with 
all  my  wealth  about  me  very  secure.  It  blew  very  hard  all 
that  night,  and  in  the  morning,  when  I  looked  out,  behold,  no 
more  ship  was  to  be  seen.  I  was  a  little  surprised,  but  recov- 
ered myself  with  this  satisfactory  reflection,  viz.,  that  I  had 
lost  no  time,  nor  abated  no  diligence,  to  get  everything  out  of 
her  that  could  be  useful  to  me,  and  that  indeed  there  was  little 
left  in  her  that  I  was  able  to  bring  away  if  I  had  had  more 
time. 

I  now  gave  over  any  more  thoughts  of  the  ship,  or  of  any- 

f73l 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

thing  out  of  her,  except  what  might  drive  on  shore  from  her 
wreck,  as  indeed  divers  pieces  of  her  afterwards  did;  but  those 
things  were  of  small  use  to  me. 

My  thoughts  were  now  wholly  employed  about  securing 
myself  against  either  savages,  if  any  should  appear,  or  wild 
beasts,  if  any  were  in  the  island;  and  I  had  many  thoughts  of 
the  method  how  to  do  this,  and  what  kind  of  dwelling  to  make, 
whether  I  should  make  me  a  cave  in  the  earth,  or  a  tent  upon 
the  earth ;  and,  in  short,  I  resolved  upon  both,  the  manner  and 
description  of  which  it  may  not  be  improper  to  give  an  ac- 
count of. 

I  soon  found  the  place  I  was  in  was  not  for  my  settlement, 
particularly  because  it  was  upon  a  low  moorish  ground  near 
the  sea,  and  I  believed  would  not  be  wholesome;  and  more  par- 
ticularly because  there  was  no  fresh  water  near  it.  So  I  re- 
solved to  find  a  more  healthy  and  more  convenient  spot  of 
ground. 

I  consulted  several  things  in  my  situation,  which  I  found 
would  be  proper  for  me.  First,  health  and  fresh  water,  I  just 
now  mentioned.  Secondly,  shelter  from  the  heat  of  the  sun. 
Thirdly,  security  from  ravenous  creatures,  whether  men  or 
beasts.  Fourthly,  a  view  to  the  sea,  that  if  God  sent  any  ship 
in  sight  I  might  not  lose  any  advantage  for  my  deliverance,  of 
which  I  was  not  willing  to  banish  all  my  expectation  yet. 

In  search  of  a  place  proper  for  this,  I  found  a  little  plain 
on  the  side  of  a  rising  hill,  whose  front  towards  this  little  plain 
was  steep  as  a  house-side,  so  that  nothing  could  come  down 
upon  me  from  the  top ;  on  the  side  of  this  rock  there  was  a  hoi- 

[74] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

low  place,  worn  a  little  way  in,  like  the  entrance  or  door  of  a 
cave;  but  there  was  not  really  any  cave,  or  way  into  the  rock 
at  all. 

On  the  flat  of  the  green,  just  before  this  hollow  place,  I 
resolved  to  pitch  my  tent.  This  plain  was  not  above  an  hun- 
dred yards  broad,  and  about  twice  as  long,  and  lay  like  a  green 
before  my  door,  and  at  the  end  of  it  descended  irregularly  every 
way  down  into  the  low  grounds  by  the  seaside.  It  was  on  the 
N.N.W.  side  of  the  hill,  so  that  I  was  sheltered  from  the  heat 
every  day,  till  it  came  to  a  W.  and  by  S.  sun,  or  thereabouts, 
which  in  those  countries  is  near  the  setting. 

Before  I  set  up  my  tent,  I  drew  a  half  circle  before  the 
hollow  place,  which  took  in  about  ten  yards  in  its  semi-diameter 
from  the  rock,  and  twenty  yards  in  its  diameter  from  its  begin- 
ning and  ending.  In  this  half-circle  I  pitched  two  rows  of 
strong  stakes,  driving  them  into  the  ground  till  they  stood  very 
firm  like  piles,  the  biggest  end  being  out  of  the  ground  about 
five  feet  and  a  half,  and  sharpened  on  the  top.  The  two  rows 
did  not  stand  above  six  inches  from  one  another. 

Then  I  took  the  pieces  of  cable  which  I  had  cut  in  the  ship, 
and  laid  them  in  rows  one  upon  another,  within  the  circle,  be- 
tween these  two  rows  of  stakes,  up  to  the  top,  placing  other 
stakes  in  the  inside  leaning  against  them,  about  two  feet  and  a 
half  high,  like  a  spur  to  a  post;  and  this  fence  was  so  strong, 
that  neither  man  nor  beast  could  get  into  it,  or  over  it.  This 
cost  me  a  great  deal  of  time  and  labor,  especially  to  cut  the  piles 
in  the  woods,  bring  them  to  the  place,  and  drive  them  into  the 
earth. 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

The  entrance  into  this  place  I  made  to  be  not  by  a  door,  but 
by  a  short  ladder,  to  go  over  the  top ;  which  ladder,  when  I  was 
in,  I  lifted  over  after  me,  and  so  I  was  completely  fenced  in, 
and  fortified,  as  I  thought,  from  all  the  world,  and  conse- 
quently slept  secure  in  the  night,  which  otherwise  I  could  not 
have  done;  though,  as  it  appeared  afterwards,  there  was  no 
need  of  all  this  caution  from  the  enemies  that  I  apprehended 
danger  from. 


176] 


CHAPTER  VI 

Robinson  Carries  all  His  Riches,  Provisions,  etc.,  into  His  Habitation 
— Dreariness  of  Solitude — Consolatory  Reflections 

INTO  this  fence  or  fortress,  with  infinite  labor,  I  carried  all 
my  riches,  all  my  provisions,  ammunition,  and  stores,  of 
which  you  have  the  account  above ;  and  I  made  me  a  large 
tent,  which,  to  preserve  me  from  the  rains  that  in  one  part  of 
the  year  are  very  violent  there,  I  made  double,  viz.,  one  smaller 
tent  within,  and  one  larger  tent  above  it,  and  covered  the  upper- 
most with  a  large  tarpaulin,  which  I  had  saved  among  the  sails. 
And  now  I  lay  no  more  for  a  while  in  the  bed  which  I  had 
brought  on  shore,  but  in  a  hammock,  which  was  indeed  a  very 
good  one,  and  belonged  to  the  mate  of  the  ship. 

Into  this  tent  I  brought  all  my  provisions,  and  everything 
that  would  spoil  by  the  wet;  and  having  thus  enclosed  all  my 
goods,  I  made  up  the  entrance,  which,  till  now,  I  had  left  open, 
and  so  passed  and  repassed,  as  I  said,  by  a  short  ladder. 

When  I  had  done  this,  I  began  to  work  my  way  into  the 
rock;  and  bringing  all  the  earth  and  stones  that  I  dug  down 
out  through  my  tent,  I  laid  them  up  within  my  fence  in  the 
nature  of  a  terrace,  so  that  it  raised  the  ground  within  about 
a  foot  and  a  half;  and  thus  I  made  me  a  cave  just  behind  my 
tent,  which  served  me  like  a  cellar  to  my  house. 

It  cost  me  much  labor,  and  many  days,  before  all  these 

[77] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

things  were  brought  to  perfection,  and  therefore  I  must  go 
back  to  some  other  things  which  took  up  some  of  my  thoughts. 
At  the  same  time  it  happened,  after  I  had  laid  my  scheme  for 
the  setting  up  my  tent,  and  making  the  cave,  that  a  storm  of 
rain  falling  from  a  thick  dark  cloud,  a  sudden  flash  of  lightning 
happened,  and  after  that  a  great  clap  of  thunder,  as  is  natu- 
rally the  effect  of  it.  I  was  not  so  much  surprised  with  the 
lightning,  as  I  was  with  a  thought  which  darted  into  my  mind 
as  swift  as  the  lightning  itself .  O  my  powder!  My  very  heart 
sunk  within  me  when  I  thought,  that  at  one  blast  all  my  powder 
might  be  destroyed,  on  which,  not  my  defence  only,  but  the  pro- 
viding me  food,  as  I  thought,  entirely  depended.  I  was  noth- 
ing near  so  anxious  about  my  own  danger;  though  had  the 
powder  took  fire,  I  had  never  known  who  had  hurt  me. 

Such  impression  did  this  make  upon  me,  that  after  the  storm 
was  over  I  laid  aside  all  my  works,  my  building,  and  fortifying, 
and  applied  myself  to  make  bags  and  boxes  to  separate  the 
powder,  and  keep  it  a  little  and  a  little  in  a  parcel,  in  hope  that 
whatever  might  come  it  might  not  all  take  fire  at  once,  and  to 
keep  it  so  apart,  that  it  should  not  be  possible  to  make  one 
part  fire  another.  I  finished  this  work  in  about  a  fortnight; 
and  I  think  my  powder,  which  in  all  was  about  240  pounds 
weight,  was  divided  in  not  less  than  a  hundred  parcels.  As  to 
the  barrel  that  had  been  wet,  I  did  not  apprehend  any  danger 
from  that,  so  I  placed  it  in  my  new  cave,  which  in  my  fancy  I 
called  my  kitchen,  and  the  rest  I  hid  up  and  down  in  holes 
among  the  rocks,  so  that  no  wet  might  come  to  it,  marking  very 
carefully  where  I  laid  it. 

[78] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

In  the  interval  of  time  while  this  was  doing,  I  went  out 
once,  at  least,  every  day  with  my  gun,  as  well  to  divert  myself, 
as  to  see  if  I  could  kill  anything  fit  for  food,  and  as  near  as  I 
could  to  acquaint  myself  with  what  the  island  produced.     The 
first  time  I  went  out,  I  presently  discovered  that  there  were 
goats  in  the  island,  which  was  a  great  satisfaction  to  me;  but 
then  it  was  attended  with  this  misfortune  to  me,  viz.,  that  they 
were  so  shy,  so  subtle,  and  so  swift  of  foot,  that  it  was  the  difn- 
cultest  thing  in  the  world  to  come  at  them.     But  I  was  not  dis- 
couraged at  this,  not  doubting  but  I  might  now  and  then  shoot 
one,  as  it  soon  happened ;  for  after  I  had  found  their  haunts  a 
little,  I  laid  wait  in  this  manner  for  them.     I  observed  if  they 
saw  me  in  the  valleys,  though  they  were  upon  the  rocks,  they 
would  run  away  as  in  a  terrible  fright ;  but  if  they  were  feeding 
in  the  valleys,  and  I  was  upon  the  rocks,  they  took  no  notice 
of  me,  from  whence  I  concluded  that,  by  the  position  of  their 
optics,  their  sight  was  so  directed  downward,  that  they  did  not 
readily  see  objects  that  were  above  them.     So  afterwards  I 
took  this  method ;  I  always  climbed  the  rocks  first  to  get  above 
them,  and  then  had  frequently  a  fair  mark.     The  first  shot  I 
made  among  these  creatures  I  killed  a  she-goat,  which  had  a 
little  kid  by  her,  which  she  gave  suck  to,  which  grieved  me 
heartily;  but  when  the  old  one  fell,  the  kid  stood  stock  still  by 
her  till  I  came  and  took  her  up;  and  not  only  so,  but  when  I 
carried  the  old  one  with  me  upon  my  shoulder,  the  kid  followed 
me  quite  to  my  enclosure ;  upon  which  I  laid  down  the  dam,  and 
took  the  kid  in  my  arms,  and  carried  it  over  my  pale,  in  hopes 
to  have  bred  it  up  tame;  but  it  would  not  eat,  so  I  was  forced 

[79] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

to  kill  it,  and  eat  it  myself.  These  two  supplied  me  with  flesh 
a  great  while,  for  I  ate  sparingly,  and  saved  my  provisions,  my 
bread  especially,  as  much  as  possibly  I  could. 

Having  now  fixed  my  habitation,  I  found  it  absolutely 
necessary  to  provide  a  place  to  make  a  fire  in,  and  fuel  to  burn; 
and  what  I  did  for  that,  as  also  how  I  enlarged  my  cave,  and 
what  conveniences  I  made,  I  shall  give  a  full  account  of  in  its 
place.  But  I  must  first  give  some  little  account  of  myself,  and 
of  my  thoughts  about  living,  which  it  may  well  be  supposed 
were  not  a  few. 

I  had  a  dismal  prospect  of  my  condition;  for  as  I  was  not 
cast  away  upon  that  island  without  being  driven,  as  is  said,  by 
a  violent  storm,  quite  out  of  the  course  of  our  intended  voyage, 
and  a  great  way,  viz.,  some  hundreds  of  leagues  out  of  the 
ordinary  course  of  the  trade  of  mankind,  I  had  great  reason 
to  consider  it  as  a  determination  of  Heaven,  that  in  this  deso- 
late place,  and  in  this  desolate  manner,  I  should  end  my  life. 
The  tears  would  run  plentifully  down  my  face  when  I  made 
these  reflections,  and  sometimes  I  would  expostulate  with  my- 
self, why  Providence  should  thus  completely  ruin  its  creatures, 
and  render  them  so  absolute^  miserable,  so  without  help  aban- 
doned, so  entirely  depressed,  that  it  could  hardly  be  rational 
to  be  thankful  for  such  a  life. 

But  something  always  returned  swift  upon  me  to  check 
these  thoughts,  and  to  reprove  me;  and  particularly  one  day, 
walking  with  my  gun  in  my  hand  by  the  seaside,  I  was  very 
pensive  upon  the  subject  of  my  present  condition,  when 
Reason,  as  it  were,  expostulated  with  me  t'other  way,  thus: 

[80] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

"Well,  you  are  in  a  desolate  condition,  it  is  true,  but  pray  re- 
member, where  are  the  rest  of  you?  Did  not  you  come  eleven 
of  you  into  the  boat?  Where  are  the  ten?  Why  were  they 
not  saved,  and  you  lost?  Why  were  you  singled  out?  Is  it 
better  to  be  here,  or  there?"  And  then  I  pointed  to  the  sea. 
All  evils  are  to  be  considered  with  the  good  that  is  in  them,  and 
with  what  worse  attends  them. 

Then  it  occurred  to  me  again,  how  I  was  furnished  for  my 
subsistence,  and  what  would  have  been  my  case  if  it  had  not 
happened,  which  was  an  hundred  thousand  to  one,  that  the  ship 
floated  from  the  place  where  she  first  struck  and  was  driven  so 
near  to  the  shore  that  I  had  time  to  get  all  these  things  out  of 
her ;  what  would  have  been  my  case,  if  I  had  been  to  have  lived 
in  the  condition  in  which  I  at  first  came  on  shore,  without 
necessaries  of  life,  or  necessaries  to  supply  and  procure  them? 
"Particularly,"  said  I  aloud  (though  to  myself),  "what  should 
I  have  done  without  a  gun,  without  ammunition,  without  any 
tools  to  make  anything  or  to  work  with,  without  clothes,  bed- 
ding, a  tent,  or  any  manner  of  covering?"  and  that  now  I  had 
all  these  to  a  sufficient  quantity,  and  was  in  a  fair  way  to  pro- 
vide myself  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  live  without  my  gun  when 
my  ammunition  was  spent;  so  that  I  had  a  tolerable  view  of 
subsisting  without  any  want  as  long  as  I  lived.  For  I  consid- 
ered from  the  beginning  how  I  would  provide  for  the  accidents 
that  might  happen,  and  for  the  time  that  was  to  come,  even  not 
only  after  my  ammunition  should  be  spent,  but  even  after  my 
health  or  strength  should  decay. 

I  confess  I  had  not  entertained  any  notion  of  my  ammuni- 

[81] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

tion  being  destroyed  at  one  blast — I  mean,  my  powder  being 
blown  up  by  lightning ;  and  this  made  the  thoughts  of  it  so  sur- 
prising to  me  when  it  lightened  and  thundered,  as  I  observed 
just  now. 

And  now  being  to  enter  into  a  melancholy  relation  of  a 
scene  of  silent  life,  such,  perhaps,  as  was  never  heard  of  in  the 
world  before,  I  shall  take  it  from  its  beginning,  and  continue  it 
in  its  order.  It  was,  by  my  account,  the  30th  of  September 
when,  in  the  manner  as  above  said,  I  first  set  foot  upon  this 
horrid  island,  when  the  sun  being  to  us  in  its  autumnal  equinox, 
was  almost  just  over  my  head,  for  I  reckoned  myself,  by  obser- 
vation, to  be  in  the  latitude  of  9  degrees  22  minutes  north  of 
the  line. 


[821 


CHAPTER  VII 

Robinson's  Mode  of  Reckoning  Time — Difficulties  Arising  from  Want 
of  Tools — He  Arranges  His  Habitation 

AFTER  I  had  been  there  about  ten  or  twelve  days,  it 
came  into  my  thoughts  that  I  should  lose  my  reckon- 
ing of  time  for  want  of  books  and  pen  and  ink,  and 
should  even  forget  the  Sabbath  days  from  the  working  days; 
but  to  prevent  this,  I  cut  it  with  my  knife  upon  a  large  post,  in 
capital  letters ;  and  making  it  into  a  great  cross,  I  set  it  up  on 
the  shore  where  I  first  landed,  viz.,  "I  came  on  shore  here  on 
the  30th  of  September,  1659."  Upon  the  sides  of  this  square 
post  I  cut  every  day  a  notch  with  my  knife,  and  every  seventh 
notch  was  as  long  again  as  the  rest,  and  every  first  day  of  the 
month  as  long  again  as  that  long  one ;  and  thus  I  kept  my  cal- 
endar, or  weekly,  monthly,  and  yearly  reckoning  of  time. 

In  the  next  place  we  are  to  observe,  that  among  the  many 
chings  which  I  brought  out  of  the  ship  in  the  several  voyages, 
which,  as  above  mentioned,  I  made  to  it,  I  got  several  things  of 
less  value,  but  not  all  less  useful  to  me,  which  I  omitted  setting 
down  before;  as  in  particular,  pens,  ink,  and  paper,  several 
parcels  in  the  captain's,  mate's,  gunner's,  and  carpenter's  keep- 
ing, three  or  four  compasses,  some  mathematical  instruments, 
dials,  perspectives,  charts,  and  books  of  navigation,  all  of  which 
I  huddled  together,  whether  I  might  want  them  or  no.     Also 

[83] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  found  three  very  good  Bibles,  which  came  to  me  in  my  cargo 
from  England,  and  which  I  had  packed  up  among  my  things ; 
some  Portuguese  books  also,  and  among  them  two  or  three 
Popish  prayer-books,  and  several  other  books,  all  which  I  care- 
full  y  secured.  And  I  must  not  forget,  that  we  had  in  the  ship 
a  dog  and  two  cats,  of  whose  eminent  history  I  may  have  occa- 
sion to  say  something  in  its  place;  for  I  carried  both  the  cats 
with  me;  and  as  for  the  dog,  he  jumped  out  of  the  ship  of  him- 
self, and  swam  on  shore  to  me  the  day  after  I  went  on  shore 
with  my  first  cargo,  and  was  a  trusty  servant  to  me  many 
years.  I  wanted  nothing  that  he  could  fetch  me,  nor  any  com- 
pany that  he  could  make  up  to  me ;  I  only  wanted  to  have  him 
talk  to  me,  but  that  would  not  do.  As  I  observed  before,  I 
found  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  and  I  husbanded  them  to  the 
utmost ;  and  I  shall  show  that  while  my  ink  lasted,  I  kept  things 
very  exact ;  but  after  that  was  gone,  I  could  not,  for  I  could  not 
make  any  ink  by  any  means  that  I  could  devise. 

And  this  put  me  in  mind  that  I  wanted  many  things,  not- 
withstanding all  that  I  had  amassed  together;  and  of  these, 
this  of  ink  was  one,  as  also  spade,  pick-axe,  and  shovel,  to  dig 
or  remove  the  earth,  needles,  pins,  and  thread;  as  for  linen,  I 
soon  learned  to  want  that  without  much  difficulty. 

This  want  of  tools  made  every  work  I  did  go  on  heavily; 
and  it  was  near  a  whole  year  before  I  had  entirely  finished  mj^ 
little  pale  or  surrounded  habitation.  The  piles  or  stakes,  which 
were  as  heavy  as  I  could  well  lift,  were  a  long  time  in  cutting 
and  preparing  in  the  woods,  and  more  by  far  in  bringing  home; 
so  that  I  spent  sometimes  two  days  in  cutting  and  bringing 

[84] 


©    C.    B.    C 

' '  —  and  making  it  into  a  great  cross,  I  set  it  up  on  the  shore  where  I  first  landed 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

home  one  of  those  posts,  and  a  third  day  in  driving  it  into  the 
ground ;  for  which  purpose  I  got  a  heavy  piece  of  wood  at  first, 
but  at  last  bethought  myself  of  one  of  the  iron  crows,  which, 
however,  though  I  found  it,  yet  it  made  driving  those  posts  or 
piles  very  laborious  and  tedious  work. 

But  what  need  I  have  been  concerned  at  the  tediousness  of 
anything  I  had  to  do,  seeing  I  had  time  enough  to  do  it  in?  Nor 
had  I  any  other  employment,  if  that  had  been  over,  at  least, 
that  I  could  foresee,  except  the  ranging  the  island  to  seek  for 
food,  which  I  did  more  or  less  every  day. 

I  now  began  to  consider  seriously  my  condition,  and  the 
circumstance  I  was  reduced  to;  and  I  drew  up  the  state  of  my 
affairs  in  writing;  not  so  much  to  leave  them  to  any  that  were 
to  come  after  me,  for  I  was  like  to  have  but  few  heirs,  as  to 
deliver  my  thoughts  from  daily  poring  upon  them,  and  afflict- 
ing my  mind.  And  as  my  reason  began  now  to  master  my 
despondency,  I  began  to  comfort  myself  as  well  as  I  could,  and 
to  set  the  good  against  the  evil,  that  I  might  have  something  to 
distinguish  my  case  from  worse;  and  I  stated  it  very  impar- 
tially, like  debtor  and  creditor,  the  comforts  I  enjoyed  against 
the  miseries  I  suffered,  thus: 

Evil.  Good 
I  am  cast  upon  a  horrible  But  I  am  alive,  and  not 
desolate    island,    void    of    all  drowned,  as  all  my  ship's  corn- 
hope  of  recovery.  pany  was. 

I  am  singled  out  and  sepa-  But  I  am  singled  out,  too, 

rated,  as  it  were,  from  all  the  from  all  the  ship's  crew  to  be 

[85] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

world  to  be  miserable.  spared  from  death;  and  He 

that    miraculously    saved    me 
from   death,    can   deliver   me 
from  this  condition. 
I  am  divided  from  man-  But  I  am  not  starved  and 

kind,  a  solitaire,  one  banished     perishing  on  a  barren  place, 

from  human  society.  affording  no  sustenance. 

I  have  not  clothes  to  cover  But  I  am  in  a  hot  climate, 

me.  where  if  I  had  clothes  I  could 

hardly  wear  them. 
I  am  without  any  defence         But  I  am  cast  on  an  island, 

or  means  to  resist  any  violence     where  I  see  no  wild  beasts  to 

of  man  or  beast.  hurt  me,  as  I  saw  on  the  coast 

of  Africa;  and  what  if  I  had 
been  shipwrecked  there? 
I  have  no  soul  to  speak  to,  But  God  wonderfully  sent 

or  relieve  me.  the  ship  in  near  enough  to  the 

shore,  that  I  have  gotten  out 
so  many  necessary  things  as 
will  either  supply  my  wants, 
or  enable  me  to  supply  myself 
even  as  long  as  I  live. 

Upon  the  whole,  here  was  an  undoubted  testimony,  that 
there  was  scarce  any  condition  in  the  world  so  miserable,  but 
there  was  something  negative  or  something  positive  to  be  thank- 
ful for  in  it ;  and  let  this  stand  as  a  direction  from  the  experi- 
ence of  the  most  miserable  of  all  conditions  in  this  world,  that 
we  may  always  find  in  it  something  to  comfort  ourselves  from, 

[86] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

and  to  set  in  the  description  of  good  and  evil  on  the  credit  side 
of  the  account. 

Having  now  brought  my  mind  a  little  to  relish  my  condi- 
tion, and  given  over  looking  out  to  sea,  to  see  if  I  could  spy  a 
ship;  I  say,  giving  over  these  things,  I  began  to  apply  myself 
to  accommodate  my  way  of  living,  and  to  make  things  as  easy 
to  me  as  I  could. 

I  have  already  described  my  habitation,  which  was  a  tent 
under  the  side  of  a  rock,  surrounded  with  a  strong  pale  of  posts 
and  cables;  but  I  might  now  rather  call  it  a  wall,  for  I  raised 
a  kind  of  wall  up  against  it  of  turfs,  about  two  feet  thick  on 
the  outside,  and  after  some  time — I  think  it  was  a  year  and  a 
half — I  raised  rafters  from  it  leading  to  the  rock,  and  thatched 
or  covered  it  with  boughs  of  trees  and  such  things  as  I  could 
get  to  keep  out  the  rain,  which  I  found  at  some  times  of  the 
year  very  violent. 

I  have  already  observed  how  I  brought  all  my  goods  into 
this  pale,  and  into  the  cave  which  I  had  made  behind  me.  But 
I  must  observe,  too,  that  at  first  this  was  a  confused  heap  of 
goods,  which  as  they  lay  in  no  order,  so  they  took  up  all  my 
place;  I  had  no  room  to  turn  myself.  So  I  set  myself  to  en- 
large my  cave  and  works  farther  into  the  earth;  for  it  was  a 
loose  sandy  rock,  which  yielded  easily  to  the  labor  I  bestowed 
on  it.  And  so,  when  I  found  I  was  pretty  safe  as  to  beasts  of 
prey,  I  worked  sideways  to  the  right  hand  into  the  rock;  and 
then,  turning  to  the  right  again,  worked  quite  out,  and  made 
me  a  door  to  come  out  on  the  outside  of  my  pale  or  fortifica- 
tion.    This  gave  me  not  only  egress  and  regress,  as  it  were  a 

[87] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

back-way  to  my  tent  and  to  my  storehouse,  but  gave  me  room 
to  stow  my  goods. 

And  now  I  began  to  apply  myself  to  make  such  necessary 
things  as  I  found  I  most  wanted,  as  particularly  a  chair  and  a 
table;  for  without  these  I  was  not  able  to  enjoy  the  few  com- 
forts I  had  in  the  world.  I  could  not  write  or  eat,  or  do  several 
things  with  so  much  pleasure  without  a  table. 

So  I  went  to  work;  and  here  I  must  needs  observe,  that  as 
reason  is  the  substance  and  original  of  the  mathematics,  so  by 
stating  and  squaring  everything  by  reason,  and  by  making  the 
most  rational  judgment  of  things,  every  man  may  be  in  time 
master  of  every  mechanic  art.  I  had  never  handled  a  tool  in 
my  life;  and  yet  in  time,  by  labor,  application,  and  contrivance, 
I  found  at  last  that  I  wanted  nothing  but  I  could  have  made 
it,  especially  if  I  had  had  tools.  However,  I  made  abundance 
of  things  even  without  tools,  and  some  with  no  more  tools  than 
an  adze  and  a  hatchet,  which,  perhaps,  were  never  made  that 
way  before,  and  that  with  infinite  labor.  For  example,  if  I 
wanted  a  board,  I  had  no  other  way  but  to  cut  down  a  tree,  set 
it  on  an  edge  before  me,  and  hew  it  flat  on  either  side  with  my 
axe,  till  I  had  brought  it  to  be  thin  as  a  plank,  and  then  dub  it 
smooth  with  my  adze.  It  is  true,  by  this  method  I  could  make 
but  one  board  out  of  a  whole  tree;  but  this  I  had  no  remedy 
for  but  patience,  any  more  than  I  had  for  the  prodigious  deal 
of  time  and  labor  which  it  took  me  up  to  make  a  plank  or 
board.  But  my  time  or  labor  was  little  worth,  and  so  it  was 
as  well  employed  one  way  as  another. 

However,  I  made  me  a  table  and  a  chair,  as  I  observed 

[88] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

above,  in  the  first  place,  and  this  I  did  out  of  the  short  pieces 
of  boards  that  I  brought  on  my  raft  from  the  ship.  But  when 
I  had  wrought  out  some  boards,  as  above,  I  made  large  shelves 
of  the  breadth  of  a  foot  and  a  half  one  over  another,  all  along 
one  side  of  my  cave,  to  lay  all  my  tools,  nails,  and  iron-work ; 
and,  in  a  word,  to  separate  everything  at  large  in  their  places, 
that  I  might  come  easily  at  them.  I  knocked  pieces  into  the 
wall  of  the  rock  to  hang  my  guns  and  all  things  that  would 
hang  up;  so  that  had  my  cave  been  to  be  seen,  it  looked  like 
a  general  magazine  of  all  necessary  things;  and  I  had  every- 
thing so  ready  at  my  hand,  that  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  me 
to  see  all  my  goods  in  such  order,  and  especially  to  find  my 
stock  of  all  necessaries  so  great. 

And  now  it  was  when  I  began  to  keep  a  journal  of  every 
day's  employment ;  for,  indeed,  at  first  I  was  in  too  much  hurry, 
and  not  only  hurry  as  to  labor,  but  in  too  much  discomposure 
of  mind;  and  my  journal  would  have  been  full  of  many  dull 
things.  For  example,  I  must  have  said  thus:  Sept.  the 
30th. — After  I  got  to  shore,  and  had  escaped  drowning,  in- 
stead of  being  thankful  to  God  for  my  deliverance,  having  first 
vomited  with  the  great  quantity  of  salt  water  which  was  gotten 
into  my  stomach,  and  recovering  myself  a  little,  I  ran  about  the 
shore,  wringing  my  hands,  and  beating  my  head  and  face,  ex- 
claiming at  my  misery,  and  crying  out,  I  was  undone,  undone, 
till,  tired  and  faint,  I  was  forced  to  lie  down  on  the  ground  to 
repose;  but  durst  not  sleep,  for  fear  of  being  devoured. 

Some  days  after  this,  and  after  I  had  been  on  board  the 
ship,  and  got  all  that  I  could  out  of  her,  yet  I  could  not  for- 

[89] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

bear  getting  up  to  the  top  of  a  little  mountain,  and  looking  out 
to  sea,  in  hopes  of  seeing  a  ship ;  then  fancy  at  a  vast  distance  I 
spied  a  sail,  please  myself  with  the  hopes  of  it,  and  then,  after 
looking  steadily  till  I  was  almost  blind,  lose  it  quite,  and  sit 
down  and  weep  like  a  child,  and  thus  increase  my  misery  by  my 
folly. 

But  having  gotten  over  these  things  in  some  measure,  and 
having  settled  my  household  stuff  and  habitation,  made  me  a 
table  and  a  chair,  and  all  as  handsome  about  me  as  I  could,  I 
began  to  keep  my  journal,  of  which  I  shall  here  give  you  the 
copy  (though  in  it  will  be  told  all  these  particulars  over  again) 
as  long  as  it  lasted;  for,  having  no  more  ink,  I  was  forced  to 
leave  it  off. 


[90] 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Robinson's  Journal — Details  of  His  Domestic  Economy  and  Con- 
trivances— Shock   of   an  Earthquake 

SEPTEMBER  30,  1659.— I,  poor  miserable  Robinson 
Crusoe,  being  shipwrecked,  during  a  dreadful  storm,  in 
the  offing,  came  on  shore  on  this  dismal  unfortunate 
island,  which  I  called  the  Island  of  Despair,  all  the  rest  of  the 
ship's  company  being  drowned,  and  myself  almost  dead. 

All  the  rest  of  that  day  I  spent  in  afflicting  myself  at  the 
dismal  circumstances  I  was  brought  to,  viz.,  I  had  neither  food, 
house,  clothes,  weapon,  nor  place  to  fly  to ;  and  in  despair  of  any 
relief,  saw  nothing  but  death  before  me ;  either  that  I  should  be 
devoured  by  wild  beasts,  murdered  by  savages,  or  starved  to 
death  for  want  of  food.  At  the  approach  of  night,  I  slept  in  a 
tree  for  fear  of  wild  creatures,  but  slept  soundly,  though  it 
rained  all  night. 

Oct.  1. — In  the  morning  I  saw,  to  my  great  surprise,  the 
ship  had  floated  with  the  high  tide,  and  was  driven  on  shore 
again  much  nearer  the  island ;  which,  as  it  was  some  comfort  on 
one  hand,  for  seeing  her  sit  upright,  and  not  broken  to  pieces, 
I  hoped,  if  the  wind  abated,  I  might  get  on  board,  and  get  some 
food  and  necessaries  out  of  her  for  my  relief;  so,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  renewed  my  grief  at  the  loss  of  my  comrades,  who,  I 

[91] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

imagined,  if  we  had  all  stayed  on  board,  might  have  saved  the 
ship,  or  at  least  that  they  would  not  have  been  all  drowned  as 
they  were;  and  that  had  the  men  been  saved,  we  might  perhaps 
have  built  us  a  boat  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  ship,  to  have  carried 
us  to  some  other  part  of  the  world.  I  spent  great  part  of  this 
day  in  perplexing  myself  on  these  things ;  but  at  length  seeing 
the  ship  ahnost  dry,  I  went  upon  the  sand  as  near  as  I  could, 
and  then  swam  on  board;  this  day  also  it  continued  raining, 
though  with  no  wind  at  all. 

From  the  1st  of  October  to  the  24th. — All  these  days  en- 
tirely spent  in  many  several  voyages  to  get  all  I  could  out  of 
the  ship,  which  I  brought  on  shore,  every  tide  of  flood,  upon 
rafts.  Much  rain  also  in  these  days,  though  with  some  inter- 
vals of  fair  weather ;  but,  it  seems,  this  was  the  rainy  season. 

Oct.  20. — I  overset  my  raft,  and  all  the  goods  I  had  got 
upon  it ;  but  being  in  shoal  water,  and  the  things  being  chiefly 
heavy,  I  recovered  many  of  them  when  the  tide  was  out. 

Oct.  25. — It  rained  all  night  and  all  day,  with  some  gusts 
of  wind,  during  which  time  the  ship  broke  in  pieces,  the  wind 
blowing  a  little  harder  than  before,  and  was  no  more  to  be  seen, 
except  the  wreck  of  her,  and  that  only  at  low  water.  I  spent 
this  day  in  covering  and  securing  the  goods  which  I  had  saved, 
that  the  rain  might  not  spoil  them. 

Oct.  26. — I  walked  about  the  shore  almost  all  day  to  find 
out  a  place  to  fix  my  habitation,  greatly  concerned  to  secure 
myself  from  an  attack  in  the  night,  either  from  wild  beasts  or 
men.  Towards  night  I  fixed  upon  a  proper  place  under  a 
rock,  and  marked  out  a  semicircle  for  my  encampment,  which  I 

[92] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

resolved  to  strengthen  with  a  work,  wall,  or  fortification  made 
of  double  piles,  lined  within  with  cables,  and  without  with  turf. 

From  the  26th  to  the  30th  I  worked  very  hard  in  carrying 
all  my  goods  to  my  new  habitation,  though  some  part  of  the 
time  it  rained  exceeding  hard. 

The  31st,  in  the  morning,  I  went  out  into  the  island  with 
my  gun  to  seek  for  some  food,  and  discover  the  country ;  when  I 
killed  a  she-goat,  and  her  kid  followed  me  home,  which  I  after- 
wards killed  also,  because  it  would  not  feed. 

Nov.  1. — I  set  up  my  tent  under  a  rock,  and  lay  there  the 
first  night,  making  it  as  large  as  I  could,  with  stakes  driven  in 
to  swing  my  hammock  upon. 

Nov.  2. — I  set  up  all  my  chests  and  boards,  and  the  pieces 
of  timber  which  made  my  rafts,  and  with  them  formed  a  fence 
round  me,  a  little  within  the  place  I  had  marked  out  for  my 
fortification. 

Nov.  3. — I  went  out  with  my  gun,  and  killed  two  fowls  like 
ducks,  which  were  very  good  food.  In  the  afternoon  went  to 
work  to  make  me  a  table. 

A7ov .  4. — This  morning  I  began  to  order  my  times  of  work, 
of  going  out  with  my  gun,  time  of  sleep,  and  time  of  diversion, 
viz.,  every  morning  I  walked  out  with  my  gun  for  two  or  three 
hours,  if  it  did  not  rain;  then  employed  myself  to  work  till 
about  eleven  o'clock ;  then  eat  what  I  had  to  live  on ;  and  from 
twelve  to  two  I  lay  down  to  sleep,  the  weather  being  excessive 
hot;  and  then  in  the  evening  to  work  again.  The  working  part 
of  this  day  and  of  the  next  were  wholly  employed  in  making 
my  table ;  for  I  was  yet  but  a  very  sorry  workman,  though  time 

[93] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

and  necessity  made  me  a  complete  natural  mechanic  soon  after, 
as  I  believe  it  would  do  any  one  else. 

Nov.  5. — This  day  went  abroad  with  my  gun  and  my  dog, 
and  killed  a  wild  cat;  her  skin  pretty  soft,  but  her  flesh  good 
for  nothing.  Every  creature  I  killed,  I  took  off  the  skins  and 
preserved  them.  Coming  back  by  the  sea-shore,  I  saw  many 
sorts  of  sea-fowls,  which  I  did  not  understand;  but  was  sur- 
prised, and  almost  frightened,  with  two  or  three  seals,  which, 
while  I  was  gazing  at,  not  well  knowing  what  they  were,  got 
into  the  sea,  and  escaped  me  for  that  time. 

Nov.  6. — After  my  morning  walk  I  went  to  work  with  my 
table  again,  and  finished  it,  though  not  to  my  liking;  nor  was  it 
long  before  I  learned  to  mend  it. 

Nov.  7. — Now  it  began  to  be  settled  fair  weather.  The 
7th,  8th,  9th,  10th,  and  part  of  the  12th  (for  the  11th  was 
Sunday)  I  took  wholly  up  to  make  me  a  chair,  and  with  much 
ado,  brought  it  to  a  tolerable  shape,  but  never  to  please  me ;  and 
even  in  the  making,  I  pulled  it  in  pieces  several  times.  Note, 
I  soon  neglected  my  keeping  Sundays ;  for,  omitting  my  mark 
for  them  on  my  post,  I  forgot  which  was  which. 

Nov.  13. — This  day  it  rained,  which  refreshed  me  exceed- 
ingly, and  cooled  the  earth;  but  it  was  accompanied  with  ter- 
rible thunder  and  lightning,  which  frightened  me  dreadfully, 
for  fear  of  my  powder.  As  soon  as  it  was  over,  I  resolved  to 
separate  my  stock  of  powder  into  as  many  little  parcels  as 
possible,  that  it  might  not  be  in  danger. 

Nov.  14,  15,  16. — These  three  days  I  spent  in  making  little 
square  chests  or  boxes,  which  might  hold  about  a  pound,  or 

[94] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

two  pound  at  most,  of  powder;  and  so  putting  the  powder  in, 
I  stowed  it  in  places  as  secure  and  remote  from  one  another  as 
possible.  On  one  of  these  three  days  I  killed  a  large  bird  that 
was  good  to  eat,  but  I  know  not  what  to  call  it. 

Nov.  17. — This  day  I  began  to  dig  behind  my  tent  into  the 
rock,  to  make  room  for  my  farther  convenience.  Note,  three 
things  I  wanted  exceedingly  for  this  work,  viz.,  a  pick-axe,  a 
shovel,  and  a  wheelbarrow  or  basket;  so  I  desisted  from  my 
work,  and  began  to  consider  how  to  supply  that  want,  and  make 
me  some  tools.  As  for  a  pick-axe,  I  made  use  of  the  iron 
crows,  which  were  proper  enough,  though  heavy;  but  the  next 
thing  was  a  shovel  or  spade.  This  was  so  absolutely  necessary, 
that  indeed  I  could  do  nothing  effectually  without  it ;  but  what 
kind  of  one  to  make,  I  knew  not. 

Nov.  18. — The  next  day,  in  searching  the  woods,  I  found  a 
tree  of  that  wood,  or  like  it,  which  in  the  Brazils  they  call  the 
iron  tree,  for  its  exceeding  hardness ;  of  this,  with  great  labor, 
and  almost  spoiling  my  axe,  I  cut  a  piece,  and  brought  it  home, 
too,  with  difficulty  enough,  for  it  was  exceeding  heavy. 

The  excessive  hardness  of  the  wood,  and  having  no  other 
way,  made  me  a  long  while  upon  this  machine,  for  I  worked 
it  effectually,  by  little  and  little,  into  the  form  of  a  shovel  or 
spade,  the  handle  exactly  shaped  like  ours  in  England,  only 
that  the  broad  part  having  no  iron  shod  upon  it  at  bottom,  it 
would  not  last  me  so  long.  However,  it  served  well  enough  for 
the  uses  which  I  had  occasion  to  put  it  to;  but  never  was  a 
shovel,  I  believe,  made  after  that  fashion,  or  so  long  a-making. 

I  was  still  deficient,  for  I  wanted  a  basket  or  a  wheelbarrow. 

[95] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

A  basket  I  could  not  make  by  any  means,  having  no  such 
things  as  twigs  that  would  bend  to  make  wicker-ware,  at  least 
none  yet  found  out.  And  as  to  a  wheelbarrow,  I  fancied  I 
could  make  all  but  the  wheel,  but  that  I  had  no  notion  of, 
neither  did  I  know  how  to  go  about  it ;  besides,  I  had  no  possible 
way  to  make  the  iron  gudgeons  for  the  spindle  or  axis  of  the 
wheel  to  run  in,  so  I  gave  it  over;  and  so  for  carrying  away  the 
earth  which  I  dug  out  of  the  cave,  I  made  me  a  thing  like  a  hod 
which  the  laborers  carry  mortar  in,  when  they  serve  the  brick- 
layers. 

This  was  not  so  difficult  to  me  as  the  making  the  shovel; 
and  yet  this,  and  the  shovel,  and  the  attempt  which  I  made  in 
vain  to  make  a  wheelbarrow,  took  me  up  no  less  than  four  days ; 
I  mean  always,  excepting  my  morning  walk  with  my  gun, 
which  I  seldom  failed,  and  very  seldom  failed  also  bringing 
home  something  fit  to  eat. 

Nov.  23. — My  other  work  having  now  stood  still  because 
of  my  making  these  tools,  when  they  were  finished  I  went  on, 
and  working  every  day,  as  my  strength  and  time  allowed,  I 
spent  eighteen  days  entirely  in  widening  and  deepening  my 
cave,  that  it  might  hold  my  goods  commodiously. 

Note. — During  all  this  time  I  worked  to  make  this  room  or 
cave  spacious  enough  to  accommodate  me  as  a  warehouse  or 
magazine,  a  kitchen,  a  dining-room,  and  a  cellar;  as  for  my 
lodging,  I  kept  to  the  tent,  except  that  sometimes  in  the  wet 
season  of  the  year  it  rained  so  hard,  that  I  could  not  keep  my- 
self dry,  which  caused  me  afterwards  to  cover  all  my  place 
within  my  pale  with  long  poles,  in  the  form  of  rafters,  leaning 

[96] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

against  the  rock,  and  load  them  with  flags  and  large  leaves  of 
trees,  like  a  thatch. 

Dec.  10. — I  began  now  to  think  my  cave  or  vault  finished, 
when  on  a  sudden  (it  seems  I  had  made  it  too  large)  a  great 
quantity  of  earth  fell  down  from  the  top  and  one  side,  so  much, 
that,  in  short,  it  frightened  me,  and  not  without  reason  too ;  for 
if  I  had  been  under  it,  I  had  never  wanted  a  grave-digger. 
Upon  this  disaster  I  had  a  great  deal  of  work  to  do  over  again ; 
for  I  had  the  loose  earth  to  carry  out ;  and,  which  was  of  more 
importance,  I  had  the  ceiling  to  prop  up,  so  that  I  might  be 
sure  no  more  would  come  down. 

Dec.  11. — This  day  I  went  to  work  with  it  accordingly,  and 
got  two  shores  or  posts  pitched  upright  to  the  top,  with  two 
pieces  of  boards  across  over  each  post.  This  I  finished  the  next 
day;  and  setting  more  posts  up  with  boards,  in  about  a  week 
more  I  had  the  roof  secure;  and  the  posts  standing  in  rows, 
served  me  for  partitions  to  part  of  my  house. 

Dec.  17. — From  this  day  to  the  twentieth  I  placed  shelves, 
and  knocked  up  nails  on  the  posts  to  hang  everything  up  that 
could  be  hung  up ;  and  now  I  began  to  be  in  some  order  within 
doors. 

Dec.  20. — Now  I  carried  everything  into  the  cave,  and 
began  to  furnish  my  house,  and  set  up  some  pieces  of  boards, 
like  a  dresser,  to  order  my  victuals  upon;  but  boards  began  to 
be  very  scarce  with  me ;  also  I  made  me  another  table. 

Dec.  24. — Much  rain  all  night  and  all  day;  no  stirring 
out. 

Dec.  25. — Rain  all  day. 

[97] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

Dec.  26. — No  rain,  and  the  earth  much  cooler  than  before, 
and  pleasanter. 

Dec.  27. — Killed  a  young  goat,  and  lamed  another,  so  that 
I  caught  it,  and  led  it  home  on  a  string.  When  I  had  it  home, 
I  bound  and  splintered  up  its  leg,  which  was  broke.  N.B. — I 
took  such  care  of  it,  that  it  lived;  and  the  leg  grew  well  and  as 
strong  as  ever ;  but  by  my  nursing  it  so  long  it  grew  tame,  and 
fed  upon  the  little  green  at  my  door,  and  would  not  go  away. 
This  was  the  first  time  that  I  entertained  a  thought  of  breeding 
up  some  tame  creatures,  that  I  might  have  food  when  my  pow- 
der and  shot  was  all  spent. 

Dec.  28,  29,  30. — Great  heats  and  no  breeze,  so  that  there 
was  no  stirring  abroad,  except  in  the  evening,  for  food.  This 
time  I  spent  in  putting  all  my  things  in  order  within  doors. 

Jan.  1. — Very  hot  still,  but  I  went  abroad  early  and  late 
with  my  gun,  and  lay  still  in  the  middle  of  the  day.  This 
evening,  going  farther  into  the  valleys  which  lay  towards  the 
centre  of  the  island,  I  found  there  was  plenty  of  goats,  though 
exceeding  shy,  and  hard  to  come  at.  However  I  resolved  to 
try  if  I  could  not  bring  my  dog  to  hunt  them  down. 

Jan.  2. — Accordingly,  the  next  day,  I  went  out  with  my 
dog,  and  set  him  upon  the  goats ;  but  I  was  mistaken,  for  they 
all  faced  about  upon  the  dog ;  and  he  knew  his  danger  too  well, 
for  he  would  not  come  near  them. 

Jan.  3. — I  began  my  fence  or  wall;  which,  being  still  jeal- 
ous of  my  being  attacked  by  somebody,  I  resolved  to  make 
rery  thick  and  strong. 

N.B. — This  wall  being  described  before,  I  purposely  omit 

[98] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

what  was  said  in  the  journal.  It  is  sufficient  to  observe  that  I 
was  no  less  time  than  from  the  3rd  of  January  to  the  14th  of 
April  working,  finishing,  and  perfecting  this  wall,  though  it 
was  no  more  than  about  twenty-four  yards  in  length,  being  a 
half  circle  from  one  place  in  the  rock  to  another  place  about 
eight  yards  from  it,  the  door  of  the  cave  being  in  the  centre 
behind  it. 

All  this  time  I  worked  very  hard,  the  rains  hindering  me 
many  days,  nay,  sometimes  weeks  together;  but  I  thought  I 
should  never  be  perfectly  secure  till  this  wall  was  finished. 
And  it  is  scarce  credible  what  inexpressible  labor  everything 
was  done  with,  especially  the  bringing  piles  out  of  the  woods, 
and  driving  them  into  the  ground;  for  I  made  them  much 
bigger  than  I  need  to  have  done. 

When  this  wall  was  finished,  and  the  outside  double-fenced 
with  a  turf -wall  raised  up  close  to  it,  I  persuaded  myself  that 
if  any  people  were  to  come  on  shore  there,  they  would  not  per- 
ceive anything  like  a  habitation;  and  it  was  very  well  I  did  so, 
as  may  be  observed  hereafter  upon  a  very  remarkable  occasion. 

During  this  time,  I  made  my  rounds  in  the  woods  for  game 
every  day,  when  the  rain  admitted  me,  and  made  frequent  dis- 
coveries in  these  walks  of  something  or  other  to  my  advantage ; 
particularly  I  found  a  kind  of  wild  pigeons,  who  built,  not 
as  wood  pigeons,  in  a  tree,  but  rather  as  house  pigeons,  in 
the  holes  of  the  rocks.  And  taking  some  young  ones,  I  en- 
deavored to  breed  them  up  tame,  and  did  so;  but  when  they 
grew  older  they  flew  all  away,  which,  perhaps,  was  at  first  for 

[99] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

want  of  feeding  them,  for  I  had  nothing  to  give  them.  How- 
ever, I  frequently  found  their  nests,  and  got  their  young  ones, 
which  were  very  good  meat. 

And  now  in  the  managing  my  household  affairs  I  found 
myself  wanting  in  many  things,  which  I  thought  at  first  it 
was  impossible  for  me  to  make,  as  indeed,  as  to  some  of  them, 
it  was.  For  instance,  I  could  never  make  a  cask  to  be  hooped ; 
I  had  a  small  runlet  or  two,  as  I  observed  before,  but  I  could 
never  arrive  to  the  capacity  of  making  one  by  them,  though 
I  spent  many  weeks  about  it.  I  could  neither  put  in  the 
heads,  or  joint  the  staves  so  true  to  one  another,  as  to  make 
them  hole?,  water ;  so  I  gave  that  also  over. 

In  the  next  place,  I  was  at  a  great  loss  for  candles ;  so  that 
as  soon  as  ever  it  was  dark,  which  was  generally  by  seven 
o'clock,  I  was  obliged  to  go  to  bed.  I  remembered  the  lump 
of  beeswax  with  which  I  made  candles  in  my  African  adven- 
ture, but  I  had  none  of  that  now.  The  only  remedy  I  had 
was,  that  when  I  had  killed  a  goat  I  saved  the  tallow,  and  with 
a  little  dish  made  of  clay,  which  I  baked  in  the  sun,  to  which  I 
added  a  wick  of  some  oakum,  I  made  me  a  lamp ;  and  this  gave 
me  light,  though  not  a  clear  steady  light  like  a  candle. 

In  the  middle  of  all  my  labors  it  happened,  that  rummag- 
ing my  things,  I  found  a  little  bag,  which,  as  I  hinted  before, 
had  been  filled  with  corn  for  the  feeding  of  poultry,  not  for 
this  voyage,  but  before,  as  I  suppose,  when  the  ship  came 
from  Lisbon.  What  little  remainder  of  corn  had  been  in  the 
bag  was  all  devoured  with  the  rats,  and  I  saw  nothing  in  the 
bag  but  husks  and  dust ;  and  being  willing  to  have  the  bag  for 

[100] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

some  other  use,  I  think  it  was  to  put  powder  in,  when  I  divided 
it  for  fear  of  the  lightning,  or  some  such  use,  I  shook  the  husks 
of  corn  out  of  it  on  one  side  of  my  fortification,  under  the  rock. 
It  was  a  little  before  the  great  rains,  just  now  mentioned,  that 
I  threw  this  stuff  away,  taking  no  notice  of  anything,  and  not 
so  much  as  remembering  that  I  had  thrown  anything  there; 
when,  about  a  month  after,  or  thereabout,  I  saw  some  few 
stalks  of  something  green  shooting  out  of  the  ground,  which  I 
fancied  might  be  some  plant  I  had  not  seen;  but  I  was  sur- 
prised, and  perfectly  astonished,  when,  after  a  little  longer  time, 
I  saw  about  ten  or  twelve  ears  come  out,  which  were  perfect 
green  barley  of  the  same  kind  as  our  European,  nay,  as  our 
English  barley. 

It  is  impossible  to  express  the  astonishment  and  confusion 
of  my  thoughts  on  this  occasion.  I  had  hitherto  acted  upon 
no  religious  foundation  at  all;  indeed,  I  had  very  few  notions 
of  religion  in  my  head,  or  had  entertained  any  sense  of  any- 
thing that  had  befallen  me  otherwise  than  as  a  chance,  or,  as 
we  lightly  say,  what  pleases  God ;  without  so  much  as  inquiring 
into  the  end  of  Providence  in  these  things,  or  His  order  in 
governing  events  in  the  world.  But  after  I  saw  barley  grow 
there,  in  a  climate  which  I  know  was  not  proper  for  corn,  and 
especially  that  I  knew  not  how  it  came  there,  it  startled  me 
strangely,  and  I  began  to  suggest  that  God  had  miraculously 
caused  this  grain  to  grow  without  any  help  of  seed  sown,  and 
that  it  was  so  directed  purely  for  my  sustenance  on  that  wild 
miserable  place. 

This  touched  my  heart  a  little,  and  brought  tears  out  of 

[101] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

my  eyes;  and  I  began  to  bless  myself,  that  such  a  prodigy  of 
Xature  should  happen  upon  my  account;  and  this  was  the 
more  strange  to  me,  because  I  saw  near  it  still,  all  along  by  the 
side  of  the  rock,  some  other  straggling  stalks,  which  proved 
to  be  stalks  of  rice,  and  which  I  knew,  because  I  had  seen  it 
grow  in  Africa,  when  I  was  ashore  there. 

I  not  only  thought  these  the  pure  productions  of  Provi- 
dence for  my  support,  but,  not  doubting  but  that  there  was 
more  in  the  place,  I  wrent  all  over  that  part  of  the  island  where 
I  had  been  before,  peering  in  every  corner,  and  under  every 
rock,  to  see  for  more  of  it ;  but  I  could  not  find  any.  At  last 
it  occurred  to  my  thoughts  that  I  had  shook  a  bag  of  chickens' 
meat  out  in  that  place,  and  then  the  wonder  began  to  cease; 
and  I  must  confess,  my  religious  thankfulness  to  God's  provi- 
dence began  to  abate  too,  upon  the  discovering  that  all  this 
was  nothing  but  what  was  common;  though  I  ought  to  have 
been  as  thankful  for  so  strange  and  unforeseen  Providence,  as 
if  it  had  been  miraculous;  for  it  was  really  the  work  of  Provi- 
dence as  to  me,  that  should  order  or  appoint,  that  ten  or  twelve 
grains  of  corn  should  remain  unsoiled  (when  the  rats  had  de- 
stroyed all  the  rest),  as  if  it  had  been  dropped  from  lieaven; 
as  also  that  I  should  throw  it  out  in  that  particular  place,  where, 
it  being  in  the  shade  of  a  high  rock,  it  sprang  out  immediately ; 
whereas,  if  I  had  thrown  it  anywhere  else  at  that  time,  it  had 
been  burnt  up  and  destroyed. 

I  carefully  saved  the  ears  of  this  corn,  you  may  be  sure, 
in  their  season,  which  was  about  the  end  of  June;  and  laying 
up  every  corn,  I  resolved  to  sow  them  all  again,  hoping  in 

[102] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

time  to  have  some  quantity  sufficient  to  supply  me  with  bread. 
But  it  was  not  till  the  fourth  year  that  I  could  allow  myself 
the  least  grain  of  this  corn  to  eat,  and  even  then  but  sparingly, 
as  I  shall  say  afterwards  in  its  order ;  for  I  lost  all  that  I  sowed 
the  first  season,  by  not  observing  the  proper  time ;  for  I  sowed 
it  just  before  the  dry  season,  so  that  it  never  came  up  at  all, 
at  least  not  as  it  would  have  done;  of  which  in  its  place. 

Besides  this  barley,  there  was,  as  above,  twenty  or  thirty 
stalks  of  rice,  which  I  preserved  with  the  same  care,  and  whose 
use  was  of  the  same  kind,  or  to  the  same  purpose,  viz.,  to  make 
me  bread,  or  rather  food ;  for  I  found  ways  to  cook  it  up  with- 
out baking,  though  I  did  that  also  after  some  time.  But  to 
return  to  my  journal. 

I  worked  excessive  hard  these  three  or  four  months  to 
get  my  wall  done;  and  on  the  14th  of  April  I  closed  it  up, 
contriving  to  go  into  it,  not  by  a  door,  but  over  the  wall  by  a 
ladder,  that  there  might  be  no  sign  in  the  outside  of  my  habita- 
tion. 

April  16. — I  finished  the  ladder,  so  I  went  up  with  the 
ladder  to  the  top,  and  then  pulled  it  up  after  me,  and  let  it 
down  on  the  inside.  This  was  a  complete  enclosure  to  me ;  for 
within  I  had  room  enough,  and  nothing  could  come  at  me  from 
without,  unless  it  could  first  mount  my  wall. 

The  very  next  day  after  this  wall  was  finished,  I  had  al- 
most had  all  my  labor  overthrown  at  once,  and  myself  killed. 
The  case  was  thus :  As  I  was  busy  in  the  inside  of  it,  behind 
my  tent,  just  in  the  entrance  into  my  cave,  I  was  terribly  fright- 
ened with  a  most  dreadful  surprising  thing  indeed;  for  all  on 

[103] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

a  sudden  I  found  the  earth  come  crumbling  down  from  the 
roof  of  my  cave,  and  from  the  edge  of  the  hill  over  my  head, 
and  two  of  the  posts  I  had  set  up  in  the  cave  cracked  in  a  fright- 
ful manner.  I  was  heartily  scared,  but  thought  nothing  of 
what  was  really  the  cause,  only  thinking  that  the  top  of  my  cave 
was  falling  in,  as  some  of  it  had  done  before;  and  for  fear  I 
should  be  buried  in  it,  I  ran  forward  to  my  ladder;  and  not 
thinking  myself  safe  there  neither,  I  got  over  my  wall  for  fear 
of  the  pieces  of  the  hill  which  I  expected  might  roll  down 
upon  me.  I  was  no  sooner  stepped  down  upon  the  firm 
ground,  but  I  plainly  saw  it  was  a  terrible  earthquake;  for 
the  ground  I  stood  on  shook  three  times  at  about  eight  min- 
utes' distance,  with  three  such  shocks,  as  would  have  over- 
turned the  strongest  building  that  could  be  supposed  to  have 
stood  on  the  earth;  and  a  great  piece  of  the  top  of  a  rock, 
which  stood  about  half  a  mile  from  me  next  the  sea,  fell  down 
with  such  a  terrible  noise,  as  I  never  heard  in  all  my  life.  I 
perceived  also  the  very  sea  was  put  into  violent  motion  by  it; 
and  I  believe  the  shocks  were  stronger  under  the  water  than 
on  the  island. 

I  was  so  amazed  with  the  thing  itself,  having  never  felt 
the  like,  or  discoursed  with  any  one  that  had,  that  I  was  like 
one  dead  or  stupefied;  and  the  motion  of  the  earth  made  my 
stomach  sick,  like  one  that  was  tossed  at  sea.  But  the  noise  of 
the  falling  of  the  rock  awaked  me,  as  it  were,  and  rousing  me 
from  the  stupefied  condition  I  was  in,  filled  me  with  horror,  and 
I  thought  of  nothing  then  but  the  hill  falling  upon  my  tent 

[104] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

and  all  my  household  goods,  and  burying  all  at  once;  and  this 
sunk  my  very  soul  within  me  a  second  time. 

After  the  third  shock  was  over,  and  I  felt  no  more  for 
some  time,  I  began  to  take  courage;  and  yet  I  had  not  heart 
enough  to  go  over  my  wall  again,  for  fear  of  being  buried 
alive,  but  sat  still  upon  the  ground,  greatly  cast  down  and  dis- 
consolate, not  knowing  what  to  do.  All  this  while  I  had  not 
the  least  serious  religious  thought,  nothing  but  the  common, 
"Lord,  have  mercy  upon  me !"  and  when  it  was  over,  that  went 
away  too. 

While  I  sat  thus,  I  found  the  air  overcast,  and  grow  cloudy, 
as  if  it  would  rain.  Soon  after  that  the  wind  rose  by  little 
and  little,  so  that  in  less  than  half  an  hour  it  blew  a  most 
dreadful  hurricane.  The  sea  was  all  on  a  sudden  covered  over 
with  foam  and  froth ;  the  shore  was  covered  with  the  breach  of 
the  water;  the  trees  were  torn  up  by  the  roots;  and  a  terrible 
storm  it  was;  and  this  held  about  three  hours,  and  then  began 
to  abate;  and  in  two  hours  more  it  was  stark  calm,  and  began 
to  rain  very  hard. 

All  this  while  I  sat  upon  the  ground,  very  much  terrified 
and  dejected;  when  on  a  sudden  it  came  into  my  thoughts,  that 
these  winds  and  rain  being  the  consequences  of  the  earthquake, 
the  earthquake  itself  was  spent  and  over,  and  I  might  venture 
into  my  cave  again.  With  this  thought  my  spirits  began  to 
revive;  and  the  rain  also  helping  to  persuade  me,  I  went  in  and 
sat  down  in  my  tent.  But  the  rain  was  so  violent,  that  my 
tent  was  ready  to  be  beaten  down  with  it,  and  I  was  forced 

[105] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

to  go  into  my  cave,  though  veiy  much  afraid  and  uneasy,  for 
fear  it  should  fall  on  my  head. 

This  violent  rain  forced  me  to  a  new  work,  viz.,  to  cut 
a  hole  through  my  new  fortification,  like  a  sink  to  let  the  water 
go  out,  which  would  else  have  drowned  my  cave.  After  I  had 
been  in  my  cave  some  time,  and  found  still  no  more  shocks 
of  the  earthquake  follow,  I  began  to  be  more  composed.  And 
now  to  support  my  spirits,  which  indeed  wanted  it  very  much, 
I  went  to  my  little  store,  and  took  a  small  sup  of  rum,  which, 
however,  I  did  then,  and  always  very  sparingly,  knowing  I 
could  have  no  more  when  that  was  gone. 

It  continued  raining  all  that  night  and  great  part  of  the 
next  day,  so  that  I  could  not  stir  abroad;  but  my  mind  being 
more  composed,  I  began  to  think  of  what  I  had  best  do,  con- 
cluding that  if  the  island  was  subject  to  these  earthquakes, 
there  would  be  no  living  for  me  in  a  cave,  but  I  must  con- 
sider of  building  me  some  little  hut  in  an  open  place,  which 
I  might  surround  with  a  wall,  as  I  had  done  here,  and  so  make 
myself  secure  from  wild  beasts  or  men;  but  concluded,  if  I 
stayed  where  I  was,  I  should  certainly,  one  time  or  other,  be 
buried  alive. 

With  these  thoughts  I  resolved  to  remove  my  tent  from 
the  place  where  it  stood,  which  was  just  under  the  hanging 
precipice  of  the  hill,  and  which,  if  it  should  be  shaken  again, 
would  certainly  fall  upon  my  tent;  and  I  spent  the  two  next 
days,  being  the  19th  and  20th  of  April,  in  contriving  where 
and  how  to  remove  my  habitation. 

The  fear  of  being  swallowed  up  alive  made  me  that  I  never 

[106] 


"All  this  while  I  sat  upon  the  ground,  very  much  terrified  and  dejected 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

slept  in  quiet;  and  yet  the  apprehension  of  lying  abroad  with- 
out any  fence  was  almost  equal  to  it.  But  still,  when  I  looked 
about  and  saw  how  everything  was  put  in  order,  how  pleasantly 
concealed  I  was,  and  how  safe  from  danger,  it  made  me  very 
loth  to  remove. 

In  the  meantime  it  occurred  to  me  that  it  would  require 
a  vast  deal  of  time  for  me  to  do  this,  and  that  I  must  be  con- 
tented to  run  the  venture  where  I  was,  till  I  had  formed  a 
camp  for  myself,  and  had  secured  it  so  as  to  remove  to  it. 
So  with  this  resolution  I  composed  myself  for  a  time,  and  re- 
solved that  I  would  go  to  work  with  all  speed  to  build  me  a  wall 
with  piles  and  cable,  etc.,  in  a  circle  as  before,  and  set  my  tent 
up  in  it  when  it  was  finished,  but  that  I  would  venture  to  stay 
where  I  was  till  it  was  finished,  and  fit  to  remove  to.  This 
was  the  21st. 

April  22. — The  next  morning  I  began  to  consider  of  means 
to  put  this  resolve  in  execution ;  but  I  was  at  a  great  loss  about 
my  tools.  I  had  three  large  axes,  and  abundance  of  hatchets 
( for  we  carried  the  hatchets  for  traffic  with  the  Indians ) ,  but 
with  much  chopping  and  cutting  knotty  hard  wood,  they  were 
all  full  of  notches  and  dull;  and  though  I  had  a  grindstone,  I 
could  not  turn  it  and  grind  my  tools  too.  This  cost  me  as  much 
thought  as  a  statesman  would  have  bestowed  upon  a  grand 
point  of  politics,  or  a  judge  upon  the  life  and  death  of  a  man. 
At  length  I  contrived  a  wheel  with  a  string,  to  turn  it  with  my 
foot,  that  I  might  have  both  my  hands  at  liberty.  Note,  I 
had  never  seen  any  such  thing  in  England,  or  at  least  not  to 
take  notice  how  it  was  done,  though  since  I  have  observed  it  is 

[107] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

very  common  there ;  besides  that,  my  grindstone  was  very  large 
and  heavy.  This  machine  cost  me  a  full  week's  work  to  bring 
it  to  perfection. 

April  28,  29. — These  two  whole  days  I  took  up  in  grind- 
ing my  tools,  my  machine  for  turning  my  grindstone  perform- 
ing very  well. 

April  30. — Having  perceived  my  bread  had  been  low  a 
great  while,  now  I  took  a  survey  of  it,  and  reduced  myself  to 
one  biscuit-cake  a  day,  which  made  my  heart  very  heavy. 


[108] 


CHAPTER  IX 

Robinson  Obtains  More  Articles  from  the  Wreck — His  Illness  and 

Affliction 

MAY  1. — In  the  morning,  looking  towards  the  sea- 
side, the  tide  being  low,  I  saw  something  lie  on  the 
shore  bigger  than  ordinary,  and  it  looked  like  a  cask. 
When  I  came  to  it,  I  found  a  small  barrel,  and  two  or  three 
pieces  of  the  wreck  of  the  ship,  which  were  driven  on  shore  by 
the  late  hurricane;  and  looking  towards  the  wreck  itself,  I 
thought  it  seemed  to  lie  higher  out  of  the  water  than  it  used  to 
do.  I  examined  the  barrel  which  was  driven  on  shore,  and  soon 
found  it  was  a  barrel  of  gunpowder;  but  it  had  taken  water,  and 
the  powder  was  caked  as  hard  as  stone.  However,  I  rolled  it 
farther  on  shore  for  the  present,  and  went  on  upon  the  sands 
as  near  as  I  could  to  the  wreck  of  the  ship  to  look  for  more. 
When  I  came  down  to  the  ship  I  found  it  strangely  re- 
moved. The  forecastle,  which  lay  before  buried  in  sand,  was 
heaved  up  at  least  six  feet;  and  the  stern,  which  was  broken 
to  pieces,  and  parted  from  the  rest  by  the  force  of  the  sea  soon 
after  I  had  left  rummaging  her,  was  tossed,  as  it  were,  up, 
and  cast  on  one  side,  and  the  sand  was  thrown  so  high  on  that 
side  next  her  stern,  that  whereas  there  was  a  great  place  of 
water  before,  so  that  I  could  not  come  within  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  of  the  wreck  without  swimming,  I  could  now  walk  quite 

[109] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

up  to  her  when  the  tide  was  out.  I  was  surprised  with  this  at 
first,  but  soon  concluded  it  must  be  done  by  the  earthquake. 
And  as  by  this  violence  the  ship  was  more  broken  open  than 
formerly,  so  many  things  came  daily  on  shore,  which  the  sea 
had  loosened,  and  which  the  winds  and  water  rolled  by  de- 
grees to  the  land. 

This  wholly  diverted  my  thoughts  from  the  design  of  re- 
moving my  habitation ;  and  I  busied  myself  mightily,  that  day 
especially,  in  searching  whether  I  could  make  any  way  into 
the  ship.  But  I  found  nothing  was  to  be  expected  of  that 
kind,  for  that  all  the  inside  of  the  ship  was  choked  up  with 
sand.  However,  as  I  had  learned  not  to  despair  of  anything,  I 
resolved  to  pull  everything  to  pieces  that  I  could  of  the  ship, 
concluding,  that  everything  I  could  get  from  her  would  be  of 
some  use  or  other  to  me. 

May  3. — I  began  with  my  saw,  and  cut  a  piece  of  a  beam 
through,  which  I  thought  held  some  of  the  upper  part  or 
quarter-deck  together ;  and  when  I  had  cut  it  through,  I  cleared 
away  the  sand  as  well  as  I  could  from  the  side  which  lay  high- 
est ;  but  the  tide  coming  in,  I  was  obliged  to  give  over  for  that 
time. 

May  4. — I  went  a-fishing,  but  caught  not  one  fish  that  I 
durst  eat  of,  till  I  was  weary  of  my  sport;  when,  just  going 
to  leave  off,  I  caught  a  young  dolphin.  I  had  made  me  a  long 
line  of  some  rope-yarn,  but  I  had  no  hooks;  yet  I  frequently 
caught  fish  enough,  as  much  as  I  cared  to  eat;  all  which  I  dried 
in  the  sun,  and  eat  them  dry. 

May  5. — Worked  on  the  wreck,  cut  another  beam  asunder, 

[110] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

and  brought  three  great  fir-planks  off  from  the  decks,  which 
I  tied  together,  and  made  swim  on  shore,  when  the  tide  flood 
came  on. 

May  6. — Worked  on  the  wreck,  got  several  iron  bolts 
out  of  her,  and  other  pieces  of  ironwork;  worked  very  hard, 
and  came  home  very  much  tired,  and  had  thoughts  of  giving 
it  over. 

May  7. — Went  to  the  wreck  again,  but  with  an  intent  not 
to  work,  but  found  the  weight  of  the  wreck  had  broke  itself 
down,  the  beams  being  cut;  that  several  pieces  of  the  ship 
seemed  to  lie  loose,  and  the  inside  of  the  hold  lay  so  open,  that  I 
could  see  into  it,  but  almost  full  of  water  and  sand. 

May  8. — Went  to  the  wreck,  and  carried  an  iron  crow  to 
wrench  up  the  deck,  which  lay  now  quite  clear  of  the  water 
and  sand.  I  wrenched  open  two  planks,  and  brought  them 
on  shore  also  with  the  tide.  I  left  the  iron  crow  in  the  wreck 
for  the  next  day. 

31  ay  9. — Went  to  the  wreck,  and  with  the  crow  made  way 
into  the  body  of  the  wreck,  and  felt  several  casks,  and  loosened 
them  with  the  crow,  but  could  not  break  them  up.  I  felt  also 
the  roll  of  English  lead,  and  could  stir  it,  but  it  was  too  heavy 
to  remove. 

May  10,  11,  12,  13,  14. — Went  every  day  to  the  wreck, 
and  got  a  great  deal  of  pieces  of  timber,  and  boards,  or  plank, 
and  two  or  three  hundredweight  of  iron. 

31  ay  15. — I  carried  two  hatchets  to  try  if  I  could  not  cut 
a  piece  off  of  the  roll  of  lead,  by  placing  the  edge  of  one 
hatchet,  and  driving  it  with  the  other ;  but  as  it  lay  about  a  foot 

[111] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

and  a  half  in  the  water,  I  could  not  make  any  blow  to  drive 
the  hatchet. 

May  16.— -It  had  blowed  hard  in  the  night,  and  the  wreck 
appeared  more  broken  by  the  force  of  the  water ;  but  I  stayed 
so  long  in  the  woods  to  get  pigeons  for  food,  that  the  tide 
prevented  me  going  to  the  wreck  that  day. 

May  17. — I  saw  some  pieces  of  the  wreck  blown  on  shore, 
at  a  great  distance,  near  two  miles  off  me,  but  resolved  to  see 
what  they  were,  and  found  it  was  a  piece  of  the  head,  but  too 
heavy  for  me  to  bring  away. 

May  24. — Every  day  to  this  day  I  worked  on  the  wreck, 
and  with  hard  labor  I  loosened  some  things  so  much  with  the 
crow,  that  the  first  blowing  tide  several  casks  floated  out,  and 
two  of  the  seamen's  chests.  But  the  wind  blowing  from  the 
shore,  nothing  came  to  land  that  day  but  pieces  of  timber,  and 
a  hogshead,  which  had  some  Brazil  pork  in  it,  but  the  salt 
water  and  the  sand  had  spoiled  it, 

I  continued  this  work  every  day  to  the  15th  of  June,  ex- 
cept the  time  necessary  to  get  food,  which  I  always  appointed, 
during  this  part  of  my  employment,  to  be  when  the  tide  was  up, 
that  I  might  be  ready  when  it  was  ebbed  out.  And  by  this 
time  I  had  gotten  timber,  and  plank,  and  ironwork  enough 
to  have  builded  a  good  boat,  if  I  had  known  how;  and  also,  I 
got  at  several  times,  and  in  several  pieces,  near  one  hundred- 
weight of  the  sheet  lead. 

June  16. — Going  down  to  the  seaside,  I  found  a  large  tor- 
toise, or  turtle.  This  was  the  first  I  had  seen,  which  it  seems 
was  only  my  misfortune,  not  any  defect  of  the  place,  or  scar- 

[112] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

city;  for  had  I  happened  to  be  on  the  other  side  of  the  island, 
I  might  have  had  hundreds  of  them  every  day,  as  I  found  after- 
wards ;  but,  perhaps,  had  paid  dear  enough  for  them. 

June  17  I  spent  in  cooking  the  turtle.  I  found  in  her 
threescore  eggs ;  and  her  flesh  was  to  me,  at  that  time,  the  most 
savory  and  pleasant  that  ever  I  tasted  in  my  life,  having  had 
no  flesh,  but  of  goats  and  fowls,  since  I  landed  in  this  horrid 
place. 

June  18. — Rained  all  day,  and  I  stayed  within.  I  thought 
at  this  time  the  rain  felt  cold,  and  I  was  something  chilly,  which 
I  knew  was  not  usual  in  that  latitude. 

June  19. — Very  ill,  and  shivering,  as  if  the  weather  had 
been  cold. 

June  20. — No  rest  all  night ;  violent  pains  in  my  head,  and 
feverish. 

June  21. — Very  ill,  frightened  almost  to  death  with  the 
apprehensions  of  my  sad  condition,  to  be  sick,  and  no  help. 
Prayed  to  God  for  the  first  time  since  the  storm  off  of  Hull, 
but  scarce  knew  what  I  said,  or  why;  my  thoughts  being  all 
confused. 

June  22. — A  little  better,  but  under  dreadful  apprehensions 
of  sickness. 

June  23. — Very  bad  again;  cold  and  shivering,  and  then  a 
violent  headache. 

June  24. — Much  better. 

June  25. — An  ague  very  violent;  the  fit  held  me  seven 
hours ;  cold  fit,  and  hot,  with  faint  sweats  after  it. 

June  26. — Better;  and  having  no  victuals  to  eat,  took  my 

[113] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

gun,  but  found  myself  very  weak.  However,  I  killed  a  she- 
goat,  and  with  much  difficulty  got  it  home,  and  broiled  some 
of  it,  and  ate.  I  would  fain  have  stewed  it  and  made  some 
broth,  but  had  no  pot. 

June  27. — The  ague  again  so  violent  that  I  lay  abed  all 
day,  and  neither  ate  nor  drank.  I  was  ready  to  perish  for 
thirst;  but  so  weak,  I  had  not  strength  to  stand  up,  or  to  get 
myself  any  water  to  drink.  Prayed  to  God  again,  but  was 
light-headed;  and  when  I  was  not,  I  was  so  ignorant  that  I 
knew  not  what  to  say;  only  I  lay  and  cried,  "Lord,  look  upon 
me!  Lord,  pity  me!  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  me!"  I  sup- 
pose I  did  nothing  else  for  two  or  three  hours,  till  the  fit  wear- 
ing off,  I  fell  asleep,  and  did  not  wake  till  far  in  the  night. 
When  I  waked,  I  found  myself  much  refreshed,  but  weak,  and 
exceeding  thirsty.  However,  as  I  had  no  water  in  my  whole 
habitation,  I  was  forced  to  lie  till  morning,  and  went  to  sleep 
again.     In  this  second  sleep  I  had  this  terrible  dream. 

I  thought  that  I  was  sitting  on  the  ground,  on  the  outside 
of  my  wall,  where  I  sat  when  the  storm  blew  after  the  earth- 
quake, and  that  I  saw  a  man  descend  from  a  great  black  cloud, 
in  a  bright  flame  of  fire,  and  light  upon  the  ground.  He 
was  all  over  as  bright  as  a  flame,  so  that  I  could  but  just 
bear  to  look  towards  him.  His  countenance  was  most  inex- 
pressibly dreadful,  impossible  for  words  to  describe.  When 
he  stepped  upon  the  ground  with  his  feet,  I  thought  the  earth 
trembled,  just  as  it  had  done  before  in  the  earthquake,  and  all 
the  air  looked,  to  my  apprehension,  as  if  it  had  been  filled  with 
flashes  of  fire. 

[114] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

He  was  no  sooner  landed  upon  the  earth,  but  he  moved 
forward  towards  me,  with  a  long  spear  or  weapon  in  his  hand, 
to  kill  me;  and  when  he  came  to  a  rising  ground,  at  some  dis- 
tance, he  spoke  to  me,  or  I  heard  a  voice  so  terrible,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  express  the  terror  of  it.  All  that  I  can  say  I 
understood  was  this:  "Seeing  all  these  things  have  not 
brought  thee  to  repentance,  now  thou  shalt  die;"  at  which 
words  I  thought  he  lifted  up  the  spear  that  was  in  his  hand  to 
kill  me. 

No  one  that  shall  ever  read  this  account,  will  expect  that  I 
should  be  able  to  describe  the  horrors  of  my  soul  at  this  terrible 
vision ;  I  mean,  that  even  while  it  was  a  dream,  I  even  dreamed 
of  these  horrors;  nor  is  it  any  more  possible  to  describe  the  im- 
pression that  remained  upon  my  mind  when  I  awaked,  and 
found  it  was  but  a  dream. 

I  had,  alas!  no  divine  knowledge;  what  I  had  received  by 
the  good  instruction  of  my  father  was  then  worn  out,  by  an 
uninterrupted  series,  for  eight  years,  of  seafaring  wickedness, 
and  a  constant  conversation  with  nothing  but  such  as  were,  like 
myself,  wicked  and  profane  to  the  last  degree.  I  do  not  re- 
member that  I  had,  in  all  that  time,  one  thought  that  so  much 
as  tended  either  to  looking  upwards  toward  God,  or  inwards 
toward  a  reflection  upon  my  ways;  but  a  certain  stupidity  of 
soul,  without  desire  of  good,  or  conscience  of  evil,  had  entirely 
overwhelmed  me;  and  I  was  all  that  the  most  hardened,  un- 
thinking, wicked  creature  among  our  common  sailors  can  be 
supposed  to  be;  not  having  the  least  sense,  either  of  the  fear  of 
God  in  danger,  or  of  thankfulness  to  God  in  deliverances. 

[115] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

In  the  relating  what  is  already  past  of  my  story,  this  will 
be  the  more  easily  believed,  when  I  shall  add,  that  through  all 
the  variety  of  miseries  that  had  to  this  day  befallen  me,  I  never 
had  so  much  as  one  thought  of  it  being  the  hand  of  God,  or 
that  it  was  a  just  punishment  for  my  sin;  my  rebellious  be- 
havior against  my  father,  or  my  present  sins,  which  were  great; 
or  so  much  as  a  punishment  for  the  general  course  of  my  wicked 
life.  When  I  was  on  the  desperate  expedition  on  the  desert 
shores  of  Africa,  I  never  had  so  much  as  one  thought  of  what 
would  become  of  me;  or  one  wish  to  God  to  direct  me  whither 
I  should  go;  or  to  keep  me  from  the  dangers  which  apparently 
surrounded  me,  as  well  from  voracious  creatures  as  cruel  sav- 
ages. But  I  was  merely  thoughtless  of  a  God  or  a  Providence; 
acted  like  a  mere  brute  from  the  principles  of  Nature,  and  by 
the  dictates  of  common  sense  only,  and  indeed  hardly  that. 

When  I  was  delivered  and  taken  up  at  sea  by  the  Portu- 
guese captain,  well  used,  and  dealt  justly  and  honorably  with, 
as  well  as  charitably,  I  had  not  the  least  thankfulness  in  my 
thoughts.  When  again  I  was  shipwrecked,  ruined,  and  in 
danger  of  drowning  on  this  island,  I  was  as  far  from  remorse, 
or  looking  on  it  as  a  judgment;  I  only  said  to  myself  often, 
that  I  was  an  unfortunate  dog,  and  born  to  be  always  miser- 
able. 

It  is  true,  when  I  got  on  shore  first  here,  and  found  all  my 
ship's  crew  drowned,  and  myself  spared,  I  was  surprised  with 
a  kind  of  ecstasy,  and  some  transports  of  soul,  which,  had  the 
grace  of  God  assisted,  might  have  come  up  to  true  thankful- 
ness ;  but  it  ended  where  it  begun,  in  a  mere  common  flight  of 

[116] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

joy,  or,  as  I  may  say,  being  glad  I  was  alive,  without  the  least 
reflection  upon  the  distinguishing  goodness  of  the  hand  which 
had  preserved  me,  and  had  singled  me  out  to  be  preserved, 
when  all  the  rest  were  destroyed ;  or  an  inquiry  why  Providence 
had  been  thus  merciful  to  me;  even  just  the  same  common  sort 
of  joy  which  seamen  generally  have  after  they  are  got  safe 
ashore  from  a  shipwreck,  which  they  drown  all  in  the  next  bowl 
of  punch,  and  forget  almost  as  soon  as  it  is  over,  and  all  the 
rest  of  my  life  was  like  it. 

Even  when  I  was  afterwards,  on  due  consideration,  made 
sensible  of  my  condition,  how  I  was  cast  on  this  dreadful  place, 
out  of  the  reach  of  human  kind,  out  of  all  hope  of  relief,  or 
prospect  of  redemption,  as  soon  as  I  saw  but  a  prospect  of 
living,  and  that  I  should  not  starve  and  perish  for  hunger,  all 
the  sense  of  my  affliction  wore  off,  and  I  began  to  be  very 
easy,  applied  myself  to  the  works  proper  for  my  preservation 
and  supply,  and  was  far  enough  from  being  afflicted,  at  my 
condition,  as  a  judgment  from  heaven,  or,  as  the  hand  of  God 
against  me;  these  were  thoughts  which  very  seldom  entered 
into  my  head. 

The  growing  up  of  the  corn,  as  is  hinted  in  my  journal, 
had  at  first  some  little  influence  upon  me,  and  began  to  affect 
me  with  seriousness,  as  long  as  I  thought  it  had  something 
miraculous  in  it;  but  as  soon  as  ever  that  part  of  the  thought 
was  removed,  all  the  impression  which  was  raised  from  it  wore 
off  also,  as  I  have  noted  already. 

Even  the  earthquake,  though  nothing  could  be  more  ter- 
rible in  its  nature,  or  more  immediately  directing  to  the  in- 

["7] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

visible  Power,  which  alone  directs  such  things,  yet  no  sooner 
was  the  first  fright  over,  but  the  impression  it  had  made  went 
off  also.  I  had  no  more  sense  of  God  or  His  judgments,  much 
less  of  the  present  affliction  of  my  circumstances  being  from 
His  hand,  than  if  I  had  been  in  the  most  prosperous  condi- 
tion of  life. 

But  now,  when  I  began  to  be  sick,  and  a  leisurely  view  of 
the  miseries  of  death  came  to  place  itself  before  me;  when 
my  spirits  began  to  sink  under  the  burden  of  a  strong  dis- 
temper, and  Nature  was  exhausted  with  the  violence  of  the 
fever;  conscience,  that  had  slept  so  long,  began  to  awake,  and 
I  began  to  reproach  myself  with  my  past  life,  in  which  1  had 
so  evidently,  by  uncommon  wickedness,  provoked  the  justice 
of  God  to  lay  me  under  uncommon  strokes,  and  to  deal  with 
me  in  so  vindictive  a  manner. 

These  reflections  oppressed  me  for  the  second  or  third  day 
of  my  distemper;  and  in  the  violence,  as  well  of  the  fever  as 
of  the  dreadful  reproaches  of  my  conscience,  extorted  some 
words  from  me,  like  praying  to  God,  though  I  cannot  say  they 
were  either  a  prayer  attended  with  desires  or  with  hopes;  it  was 
rather  the  voice  of  mere  fright  and  distress.  My  thoughts 
were  confused,  the  convictions  great  upon  my  mind,  and  the 
horror  of  dying  in  such  a  miserable  condition,  raised  vapors 
into  my  head  writh  the  mere  apprehensions;  and  in  these  hurries 
of  my  soul,  I  know  not  what  my  tongue  might  express;  but 
it  wras  rather  exclamation,  such  as,  "Lord!  what  a  miserable 
creature  am  I!  If  I  should  be  sick,  I  shall  certainly  die  for 
want  of  help;  and  what  will  become  of  me?"     Then  the  tears 

[118] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

burst  out  of  my  eyes,  and  I  could  say  no  more  for  a  good 
while. 

In  this  interval,  the  good  advice  of  my  father  came  to  my 
mind,  and  presently  his  prediction,  which  I  mentioned  at  the 
beginning  of  this  story,  viz.,  that  if  I  did  take  this  foolish  step, 
God  would  not  bless  me,  and  I  would  have  leisure  hereafter 
to  reflect  upon  having  neglected  his  counsel,  when  there  might 
be  none  to  assist  in  my  recovery.  "Now,"  said  I  aloud,  "my 
dear  father's  words  are  come  to  pass;  God's  justice  has  over- 
taken me,  and  I  have  none  to  help  or  hear  me.  I  rejected  the 
voice  of  Providence,  which  had  mercifully  put  me  in  a  posture 
or  station  of  life  wherein  I  might  have  been  happy  and  easy; 
but  I  would  neither  see  it  myself,  or  learn  to  know  the  blessing 
of  it  from  my  parents.  I  left  them  to  mourn  over  my  folly, 
and  now  I  am  left  to  mourn  under  the  consequences  of  it.  I 
refused  their  help  and  assistance,  who  would  have  lifted  me 
into  the  world,  and  would  have  made  everything  easy  to  me; 
and  now  I  have  difficulties  to  struggle  with,  too  great  for  even 
Nature  itself  to  support,  and  no  assistance,  no  help,  no  comfort, 
no  advice."  Then  I  cried  out,  "Lord,  be  my  help,  for  I  am  in 
great  distress." 

This  was  the  first  prayer,  if  I  may  call  it  so,  that  I  had 
made  for  many  years.     But  I  return  to  my  journal. 


[1191 


CHAPTER  X 

His  Recovery — His  Comfort  in  Reading  the  Scriptures — He  Makes 
an  Excursion  into  the  Interior  of  the  Island — Forms  His  "Bower" 

JUNE  28. — Having  been  somewhat  refreshed  with  the 
sleep  I  had  had,  and  the  fit  being  entirely  off,  I  got  up; 
and  though  the  fright  and  terror  of  my  dream  was  very 
great,  yet  I  considered  that  the  fit  of  the  ague  would  return 
again  the  next  day,  and  now  was  my  time  to  get  something 
to  refresh  and  support  myself  when  I  should  be  ill.  And  the 
first  thing  I  did  I  filled  a  large  square  case-bottle  with  water, 
and  set  it  upon  my  table,  in  reach  of  my  bed;  and  to  take  off 
the  chill  or  aguish  disposition  of  the  water,  I  put  about  a 
quarter  of  a  pint  of  rum  into  it,  and  mixed  them  together. 
Then  I  got  me  a  piece  of  the  goat's  flesh,  and  broiled  it  on 
the  coals,  but  could  eat  very  little.  I  walked  about,  but  was 
very  weak,  and  withal  very  sad  and  heavy-hearted  in  the  sense 
of  my  miserable  condition,  dreading  the  return  of  my  distemper 
the  next  day.  At  night  I  made  my  supper  of  three  of  the 
turtle's  eggs,  which  I  roasted  in  the  ashes,  and  eat,  as  we  call 
it,  in  the  shell;  and  this  was  the  first  bit  of  meat  I  had  ever 
asked  God's  blessing  to,  even  as  I  could  remember,  in  my  whole 
life. 

After  I  had  eaten,  I  tried  to  walk,  but  found  myself  so 
weak,  that  I  could  hardly  carry  the  gun   (for  I  never  went 

[120] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

out  without  that)  ;  so  I  went  but  a  little  way,  and  sat  down 
upon  the  ground,  looking  out  upon  the  sea,  which  was  just 
before  me,  and  very  calm  and  smooth.  As  I  sat  there,  some 
such  thoughts  as  these  occurred  to  me. 

What  is  this  earth  and  sea,  of  which  I  have  seen  so  much? 
whence  is  it  produced?  And  what  am  I,  and  all  the  other 
creatures,  wild  and  tame,  human  and  brutal,  whence  are  we? 
Sure  we  are  all  made  by  some  secret  Power,  who  formed  the 
earth  and  sea,  the  air  and  sky.     And  who  is  that? 

Then  it  followed  most  naturally,  It  is  God  that  has  made 
it  all.  Well,  but  then  it  came  on  strangely,  if  God  has  made 
all  these  things,  He  guides  and  governs  them  all,  and  all  things 
that  concern  them;  for  the  Power  that  could  make  all  things, 
must  certainly  have  power  to  guide  and  direct  them. 

If  so,  nothing  can  happen  in  the  great  circuit  of  His  works, 
either  without  His  knowledge  or  appointment.  And  if  nothing 
happens  without  His  knowledge,  He  knows  that  I  am  here, 
and  am  in  this  dreadful  condition.  And  if  nothing  happens 
without  His  appointment,  He  has  appointed  all  this  to  befall 
me. 

Nothing  occurred  to  my  thoughts  to  contradict  any  of 
these  conclusions;  and  therefore  it  rested  upon  me  with  the 
greater  force,  that  it  must  needs  be  that  God  had  appointed 
all  this  to  befall  me;  that  I  was  brought  to  this  miserable 
circumstance  by  His  direction,  He  having  the  sole  power,  not  of 
me  only,  but  of  everything  that  happened  in  the  world.  Im- 
mediately it  followed,  Why  has  God  done  this  to  me?  What 
have  I  done  to  be  thus  used? 

[121] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

My  conscience  presently  checked  me  in  that  inquiry,  as  if 
I  had  blasphemed,  and  methought  it  spoke  to  me  like  a  voice: 
"Wretch!  dost  thou  ask  what  thou  hast  done?  Look  back 
upon  a  dreadful  misspent  life,  and  ask  thyself  what  thou  hast 
not  done?  Ask,  Why  is  it  that  thou  wert  not  long  ago  de- 
stroyed? Why  wert  thou  not  drowned  in  Yarmouth  Roads; 
killed  in  the  fight  when  the  ship  was  taken  by  the  Sallee 
man-of-war;  devoured  by  the  wild  beasts  on  the  coast  of  Africa; 
or  drowned  here,  when  all  the  crew  perished  but  thyself  ?  Dost 
thou  ask,  What  have  I  done?" 

I  was  struck  dumb  with  these  reflections,  as  one  astonished, 
and  had  not  a  word  to  say,  no,  not  to  answer  to  myself,  but 
rose  up  pensive  and  sad,  walked  back  to  my  retreat,  and  went 
up  over  my  wall,  as  if  I  had  been  going  to  bed.  But  my 
thoughts  were  sadly  disturbed,  and  I  had  no  inclination  to 
sleep ;  so  I  sat  down  in  my  chair,  and  lighted  my  lamp,  for  it 
began  to  be  dark.  Now,  as  the  apprehension  of  the  return  of 
my  distemper  terrified  me  very  much,  it  occurred  to  my  thought 
that  the  Brazilians  take  no  physic  but  their  tobacco  for  almost 
all  distempers;  and  I  had  a  piece  of  a  roll  of  tobacco  in  one  of 
the  chests,  which  was  quite  cured,  and  some  also  that  was  green, 
and  not  quite  cured. 

I  went,  directed  by  Heaven  no  doubt;  for  in  this  chest  I 
found  a  cure  both  for  soul  and  body.  I  opened  the  chest,  and 
found  what  I  looked  for,  viz.,  the  tobacco ;  and  as  the  few  books 
I  had  saved  lay  there  too,  I  took  out  one  of  the  Bibles  which 
I  mentioned  before,  and  which  to  this  time  I  had  not  found 
leisure,  or  so  much  as  inclination,  to  look  into.     I  say,  I  took 

[122] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

it  out,  and  brought  both  that  and  the  tobacco  with  me  to  the 
table. 

What  use  to  make  of  the  tobacco  I  knew  not,  as  to  my 
distemper,  or  whether  it  was  good  for  it  or  no;  but  I  tried 
several  experiments  with  it,  as  if  I  was  resolved  it  should 
hit  one  way  or  other.  I  first  took  a  piece  of  a  leaf,  and  chewed 
it  in  my  mouth,  which  indeed  at  first  almost  stupefied  my  brain, 
the  tobacco  being  green  and  strong,  and  that  I  had  not  been 
much  used  to  it.  Then  I  took  some  and  steeped  it  an  hour 
or  two  in  some  rum,  and  resolved  to  take  a  dose  of  it  when  I 
lay  down.  And  lastly,  I  burnt  some  upon  a  pan  of  coals,  and 
held  my  nose  close  over  the  smoke  of  it,  as  long  as  I  could  bear 
it,  as  well  for  the  heat,  as  almost  for  suffocation. 

In  the  interval  of  this  operation,  I  took  up  the  Bible,  and 
began  to  read,  but  my  head  was  too  much  disturbed  with  the 
tobacco  to  bear  reading,  at  least  that  time ;  only  having  opened 
the  book  casually,  the  first  words  that  occurred  to  me  were 
these,  "Call  on  Me  in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  I  will  deliver,  and 
thou  shalt  glorify  Me." 

The  words  were  very  apt  to  my  case,  and  made  some  impres- 
sion upon  my  thoughts  at  the  time  of  reading  them,  though  not 
so  much  as  they  did  afterwards ;  for  as  for  being  delivered,  the 
word  had  no  sound,  as  I  may  say,  to  me,  the  thing  was  so 
remote,  so  impossible  in  my  apprehension  of  things,  that  I  be- 
gan to  say,  as  the  children  of  Israel  did  when  they  were  prom- 
ised flesh  to  eat,  "Can  God  spread  a  table  in  the  wilderness?" 
so  I  began  to  say,  Can  God  Himself  deliver  me  from  this  place? 
And  as  it  was  not  for  many  years  that  any  hope  appeared,  this 

[123] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

prevailed  very  often  upon  my  thoughts.  But,  however,  the 
words  made  a  great  impression  upon  me,  and  I  mused  upon 
them  very  often. 

It  grew  now  late,  and  the  tobacco  had,  as  I  said,  dazed 
my  head  so  much,  that  I  inclined  to  sleep ;  so  I  left  my  lamp 
burning  in  the  cave,  lest  I  should  want  anything  in  the  night, 
and  went  to  bed.  But  before  I  lay  down,  I  did  what  I  never 
had  done  in  all  my  life;  I  kneeled  down,  and  prayed  to  God 
to  fulfil  the  promise  to  me,  that  if  I  called  upon  Him  in  the 
day  of  trouble,  He  would  deliver  me.  After  my  broken  and 
imperfect  prayer  was  over,  I  drank  the  rum  in  which  I  had 
steeped  the  tobacco;  which  was  so  strong  and  rank  of  the 
tobacco,  that  indeed  I  could  scarce  get  it  down.  Immediately 
upon  this  I  went  to  bed.  I  found  presently  it  flew  up  in  my 
head  violently ;  but  I  fell  into  a  sound  sleep,  and  waked  no  more 
till,  by  the  sun,  it  must  necessarily  be  near  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  the  next  day.  Nay,  to  this  hour  I  am  partly  of  the 
opinion  that  I  slept  all  the  next  day  and  night,  and  till  almost 
three  that  day  after;  for  otherwise  I  knew  not  how  I  should 
lose  a  day  out  of  my  reckoning  in  the  days  of  the  week,  as  it  ap- 
peared some  years  after  I  had  done.  For  if  I  had  lost  it  by 
crossing  and  re-crossing  the  line,  I  should  have  lost  more  than 
one  day.  But  certainly  I  lost  a  day  in  my  account,  and  never 
knew  which  way. 

Be  that,  however,  one  way  or  the  other,  when  I  awaked  I 
found  myself  exceedingly  refreshed,  and  my  spirits  lively  and 
cheerful.  When  I  got  up,  I  was  stronger  than  I  was  the  day 
before,  and  my  stomach  better,  for  I  was  hungry;  and,  in 

[124] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

short,  I  had  no  fit  the  next  day,  but  continued  much  altered 
for  the  better.     This  was  the  29th. 

The  30th  was  my  well  day,  of  course,  and  I  went  abroad 
with  my  gun,  but  did  not  care  to  travel  too  far.  I  killed  a  sea- 
fowl  or  two,  something  like  a  brand  goose,  and  brought  them 
home,  but  was  not  very  forward  to  eat  them;  so  I  eat  some 
more  of  the  turtle's  eggs,  which  were  very  good.  This  eve- 
ning I  renewed  the  medicine,  which  I  had  supposed  did  me 
good  the  day  before,  viz.,  the  tobacco  steeped  in  rum;  only  I 
did  not  take  so  much  as  before,  nor  did  I  chew  any  of  the 
leaf,  or  hold  my  head  over  the  smoke.  However,  I  was  not 
so  well  the  next  day,  which  was  the  first  of  July,  as  I  hoped  I 
should  have  been;  for  I  had  a  little  spice  of  the  cold  fit,  but  it 
was  not  much. 

July  2. — I  renewed  the  medicine  all  the  three  ways;  and 
dosed  myself  with  it  as  at  first,  and  doubled  the  quantity 
which  I  drank. 

July  3. — I  missed  the  fit  for  good  and  all,  though  I  did 
not  recover  my  full  strength  for  some  weeks  after.  While  I 
was  thus  gathering  strength,  my  thoughts  ran  exceedingly  upon 
this  Scripture,  "I  will  deliver  thee";  and  the  impossibility  of  my 
deliverance  lay  much  upon  my  mind,  in  bar  of  my  ever  ex- 
pecting it.  But  as  I  was  discouraging  myself  with  such 
thoughts,  it  occurred  to  my  mind  that  I  pored  so  much  upon  my 
deliverance  from  the  main  affliction,  that  I  disregarded  the 
deliverance  I  had  received ;  and  I  was,  as  it  were,  made  to  ask 
myself  such  questions  as  these,  viz.,  Have  I  not  been  delivered, 

[125] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

and  wonderfully  too,  from  sickness?  from  the  most  distressed 
condition  that  could  be,  and  that  was  so  frightful  to  me?  and 
what  notice  had  I  taken  of  it?  Had  I  done  my  part?  God 
had  delivered  me,  but  I  had  not  glorified  Him;  that  is  to  say, 
I  had  not  owned  and  been  thankful  for  that  as  a  deliverance; 
and  how  could  I  expect  greater  deliverance? 

This  touched  my  heart  very  much;  and  immediately  I 
kneeled  down,  and  gave  God  thanks  aloud  for  my  recovery 
from  my  sickness. 

July  4. — In  the  morning  I  took  the  Bible;  and  beginning 
at  the  New  Testament,  I  began  seriously  to  read  it,  and  im- 
posed upon  myself  to  read  awhile  every  morning  and  every 
night,  not  tying  myself  to  the  number  of  chapters,  but  as  long 
as  my  thoughts  should  engage  me.  It  was  not  long  after  I 
set  seriously  to  this  work,  but  I  found  my  heart  more  deeply 
and  sincerely  affected  with  the  wickedness  of  my  past  life. 

The  impression  of  my  dream  revived,  and  the  words,  "All 
these  things  have  not  brought  thee  to  repentance"  ran  seri- 
ously in  my  thought.  I  was  earnestly  begging  of  God  to  give 
me  repentance,  when  it  happened  providentially,  the  very  day, 
that,  reading  the  Scripture,  I  came  to  these  words,  "He  is 
exalted  a  Prince  and  a  Savior,  to  give  repentance,  and  to 
give  remission."  I  threw  down  the  book;  and  with  my  heart 
as  well  as  my  hands  lifted  up  to  heaven,  in  a  kind  of  ecstasy  of 
joy,  I  cried  out  aloud,  "Jesus,  Thou  son  of  David!  Jesus, 
Thou  exalted  Prince  and  Savior,  give  me  repentance!" 

This  was  the  first  time  that  I  could  say,  in  the  true  sense 
of  the  words,  that  I  prayed  in  all  my  life;  for  now  I  prayed 

[126] 


"In  the  Morning  I  took  the  Bible ;  and  beginning  at  the  New  Testament, 
I  began  seriously  to  read  it —  " 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

with  a  sense  of  my  condition,  and  with  a  true  Scripture  view 
of  hope  founded  on  the  encouragement  of  the  Word  of  God; 
and  from  this  time,  I  may  say,  I  began  to  have  hope  that  God 
would  hear  me. 

Now  I  began  to  construe  the  words  mentioned  above,  "Call 
on  Me,  and  I  will  deliver  you,"  in  a  different  sense  from  what 
I  had  ever  done  before;  for  then  I  had  no  notion  of  anything 
being  called  deliverance  but  my  being  delivered  from  the 
captivity  I  was  in;  for  though  I  was  indeed  at  large  in  the 
place,  yet  the  island  was  certainly  a  prison  to  me,  and  that 
in  the  worst  sense  in  the  world.  But  now  I  learned  to  take 
it  in  another  sense;  now  I  looked  back  upon  my  past  life  with 
such  horror,  and  my  sins  appeared  so  dreadful,  that  my  soul 
sought  nothing  of  God  but  deliverance  from  the  load  of  guilt 
that  bore  down  all  my  comfort.  As  for  my  solitary  life,  it 
was  nothing;  I  did  not  so  much  as  pray  to  be  delivered  from 
it  or  think  of  it ;  it  was  all  of  no  consideration,  in  comparison 
to  this.  And  I  add  this  part  here,  to  hint  to  whoever  shall 
read  it,  that  whenever  they  come  to  a  true  sense  of  things,  they 
will  find  deliverance  from  sin  a  much  greater  blessing  than 
deliverance  from  affliction. 

But  leaving  this  part,  I  return  to  my  journal. 

My  condition  began  now  to  be,  though  not  less  miserable 
as  to  my  way  of  living,  yet  much  easier  to  my  mind;  and  my 
thoughts  being  directed,  by  a  constant  reading  the  Scripture, 
and  praying  to  God,  to  things  of  a  higher  nature,  I  had  a 
great  deal  of  comfort  within,  which,  till  now,  I  knew  nothing 
of.     Also,  as  my  health  and  strength  returned,  I  bestirred  my- 

[127] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

self  to  furnish  myself  with  everything  that  I  wanted,  and  make 
my  way  of  living  as  regular  as  I  could. 

From  the  4th  of  July  to  the  14th,  I  was  chiefly  employed 
in  walking  about  with  my  gun  in  my  hand,  a  little  and  a  little 
at  a  time,  as  a  man  that  was  gathering  up  his  strength  after  a 
fit  of  sickness;  for  it  is  hardly  to  be  imagined  how  low  I 
was,  and  to  what  weakness  I  was  reduced.  The  application 
which  I  made  use  of  was  perfectly  new,  and  perhaps  what  had 
never  cured  an  ague  before;  neither  can  I  recommend  it  to 
any  one  to  practise,  by  this  experiment;  and  though  it  did 
carry  off  the  fit,  yet  it  rather  contributed  to  weakening  me; 
for  I  had  frequent  convulsions  in  my  nerves  and  limbs  for 
some  time. 

I  learnt  from  it  also  this,  in  particular,  that  being  abroad 
in  the  rainy  season  was  the  most  pernicious  thing  to  my  health 
that  could  be,  especially  in  those  rains  which  came  attended 
with  storms  and  hurricanes  of  wind ;  for  as  the  rain  which  came 
in  the  dry  season  was  always  most  accompanied  with  such 
storms,  so  I  found  that  rain  was  much  more  dangerous  than 
the  rain  which  fell  in  September  and  October. 

I  had  been  now  in  this  unhappy  island  above  ten  months; 
all  possibility  of  deliverance  from  this  condition  seemed  to  be 
entirely  taken  from  me;  and  I  firmly  believed  that  no  human 
shape  had  ever  set  foot  upon  that  place.  Having  now  secured 
my  habitation,  as  I  thought,  fully  to  my  mind,  I  had  a  great 
desire  to  make  a  more  perfect  discovery  of  the  island,  and 
to  see  what  other  productions  I  might  find,  which  I  yet  knew 
nothing  of. 

[128] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

It  was  the  15th  of  July  that  I  began  to  take  a  more  par- 
ticular survey  of  the  island  itself.  I  went  up  the  creek  first, 
where,  as  I  hinted,  I  brought  my  rafts  on  shore.  I  found, 
after  I  came  about  two  miles  up,  that  the  tide  did  not  flow 
any  higher,  and  that  it  was  no  more  than  a  little  brook  of 
running  water,  and  very  fresh  and  good;  but  this  being  the 
dry  season,  there  was  hardly  any  water  in  some  parts  of  it,  at 
least,  not  enough  to  run  in  any  stream,  so  as  it  could  be  per- 
ceived. 

On  the  bank  of  this  brook  I  found  many  pleasant  savannas 
or  meadows,  plain,  smooth,  and  covered  with  grass;  and  on 
the  rising  parts  of  them,  next  to  the  higher  grounds,  where  the 
water,  as  might  be  supposed,  never  overflowed,  I  found  a  great 
deal  of  tobacco,  green,  and  growing  to  a  great  and  very  strong 
stalk.  There  were  divers  other  plants,  which  I  had  no  notion 
of,  or  understanding  about,  and  might  perhaps  have  virtues  of 
their  own,  which  I  could  not  find  out. 

I  searched  for  the  cassava  root,  which  the  Indians,  in  all 
that  climate,  make  their  bread  of,  but  I  could  find  none.  I 
saw  large  plants  of  aloes,  but  did  not  then  understand  them.  I 
saw  several  sugar-canes,  but  wild,  and,  for  want  of  cultivation, 
imperfect. 

I  contented  myself  with  these  discoveries  for  this  time, 
and  came  back,  musing  with  myself  what  course  I  might 
take  to  know  the  virtue  and  goodness  of  any  of  the  fruits  or 
plants  which  I  should  discover;  but  could  bring  it  to  no  con- 
clusion; for,  in  short,  I  had  made  so  little  observation  while 
I  was  in  the  Brazils,  that  I  knew  little  of  the  plants  in  the  field, 

[129] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

at  least  very  little  that  might  serve  me  to  any  purpose  now  in 
my  distress. 

The  next  day,  the  16th,  I  went  up  the  same  way  again; 
and  after  going  something  farther  than  I  had  gone  the  day 
before,  I  found  the  brook  and  the  savannas  began  to  cease,  and 
the  country  became  more  woody  than  before.  In  this  part  I 
found  different  fruits,  and  particularly  I  found  melons  upon 
the  ground  in  great  abundance,  and  grapes  upon  the  trees. 
The  vines  had  spread  indeed  over  the  trees,  and  the  clusters 
of  grapes  were  just  now  in  their  prime,  very  ripe  and  rich. 
This  was  a  surprising  discovery,  and  I  was  exceeding  glad  of 
them ;  but  I  was  warned  by  my  experience  to  eat  sparingly  of 
them,  remembering  that  when  I  was  ashore  in  Barbary  eating 
of  grapes  killed  several  of  our  Englishmen,  who  were  slaves 
there,  by  throwing  them  into  fluxes  and  fevers.  But  I  found 
an  excellent  use  for  these  grapes;  and  that  was,  to  cure  or 
dry  them  in  the  sun,  and  keep  them  as  dried  grapes  or  raisins 
are  kept,  which  I  thought  would  be,  as  indeed  they  were,  as 
wholesome  as  agreeable  to  eat,  when  no  grapes  might  be  to 
be  had. 

I  spent  all  that  evening  there,  and  went  not  back  to  my 
habitation;  which,  by  the  way,  was  the  first  night,  as  I  might 
say,  I  had  lain  from  home.  In  the  night,  I  took  my  first  con- 
trivance, and  got  up  into  a  tree,  where  I  slept  well;  and  the 
next  morning  proceeded  upon  my  discovery,  travelling  near 
four  miles,  as  I  might  judge  by  the  length  of  the  valley,  keep- 
ing still  due  north,  with  a  ridge  of  hills  on  the  south  and  north 
side  of  me. 

[130] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

At  the  end  of  this  march  I  came  to  an  opening,  where  the 
country  seemed  to  descend  to  the  west ;  and  a  little  spring 
of  fresh  water,  which  issued  out  of  the  side  of  the  hill  by  me, 
ran  the  other  way,  that  is,  due  east ;  and  the  countiy  appeared 
so  fresh,  so  green,  so  flourishing,  everything  being  in  a  con- 
stant verdure  or  flourish  of  spring,  that  it  looked  like  a  planted 
garden. 

I  descended  a  little  on  the  side  of  that  delicious  vale,  survey- 
ing it  with  a  secret  kind  of  pleasure,  though  mixed  with  my 
other  afflicting  thoughts,  to  think  that  this  was  all  my  own; 
that  I  was  king  and  lord  of  all  this  country  indefeasibly,  and 
had  a  right  of  possession;  and,  if  I  could  convey  it,  I  might 
have  it  in  inheritance  as  completely  as  any  lord  of  a  manor 
in  England. 

I  saw  here  abundance  of  cocoa  trees,  orange,  and  lemon, 
and  citron  trees;  but  all  wild,  and  very  few  bearing  fruit,  at 
least  not  then.  However,  the  green  limes  that  I  gathered  were 
not  only  pleasant  to  eat,  but  verj7-  wholesome;  and  I  mixed 
their  juice  afterwards  with  water,  which  made  it  very  whole- 
some, and  very  cool  and  refreshing. 

I  found  now  I  had  business  enough  to  gather  and  carry 
home;  and  I  resolved  to  lay  up  a  store,  as  well  of  grapes  as 
limes  and  lemons  to  furnish  myself  for  the  wet  season,  which 
I  knew  was  approaching. 

In  order  to  do  this,  I  gathered  a  great  heap  of  grapes  in 
one  place,  and  a  lesser  heap  in  another  place,  and  a  great  parcel 
of  limes  and  lemons  in  another  place ;  and  taking  a  few  of  each 
with  me,  I  travelled  homeward ;  and  resolved  to  come  again,  and 

[131] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

bring  a  bag  or  sack,  or  what  I  could  make,  to  carry  the  rest 
home. 

Accordingly,  having  spent  three  days  in  this  journey,  I 
came  home  (so  I  must  now  call  my  tent  and  my  cave) ;  but 
before  I  got  thither,  the  grapes  were  spoiled;  the  richness  of 
the  fruits,  and  the  weight  of  the  juice,  having  broken  them 
and  bruised  them,  they  were  good  for  little  or  nothing:  as  to 
the  limes,  they  were  good,  but  I  could  bring  but  a  few. 

The  next  day,  being  the  19th,  I  went  back,  having  made 
me  two  small  bags  to  bring  home  my  harvest;  but  I  was  sur- 
prised, when,  coming  to  my  heap  of  grapes,  which  were  so 
rich  and  fine  when  I  gathered  them,  I  found  them  all  spread 
about,  trod  to  pieces,  and  dragged  about,  some  here,  some  there, 
and  abundance  eaten  and  devoured.  By  this  I  concluded 
there  were  some  wild  creatures  thereabouts,  which  had  done 
this ;  but  what  they  were,  I  knew  not. 

However,  as  I  found  that  there  was  no  laying  them  up 
on  heaps,  and  no  carrying  them  away  in  a  sack,  but  that  one 
way  they  would  be  destroyed,  and  the  other  way  they  would 
be  crushed  with  their  own  weight,  I  took  another  course;  for 
I  gathered  a  large  quantity  of  the  grapes,  and  hung  them  up 
upon  the  out-branches  of  the  trees,  that  they  might  cure  and 
dry  in  the  sun;  and  as  for  the  limes  and  lemons,  I  carried  as 
many  back  as  I  could  stand  under. 

When  I  came  home  from  this  journey,  I  contemplated  with 
great  pleasure  the  fruitfulness  of  that  valley,  and  the  pleasant- 
ness of  the  situation;  the  security  from  storms  on  that  side  the 
water  and  the  wood ;  and  concluded  that  I  had  pitched  upon  a 

[132] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

place  to  fix  my  abode,  which  was  by  far  the  worst  part  of  the 
country.  Upon  the  whole,  I  began  to  consider  of  removing 
my  habitation,  and  to  look  out  for  a  place  equally  safe  as  where 
I  now  was  situate,  if  possible,  in  that  pleasant  fruitful  part 
of  the  island. 

This  thought  ran  long  in  my  head,  and  I  was  exceeding 
fond  of  it  for  some  time,  the  pleasantness  of  the  place  tempting 
me ;  but  when  I  came  to  a  nearer  view  of  it  and  to  consider  that 
I  was  now  by  the  seaside,  where  it  was  at  least  possible  that 
something  might  happen  to  my  advantage,  and,  by  the  same  ill 
fate  that  brought  me  hither,  might  bring  some  other  unhappy 
wretches  to  the  same  place ;  and  though  it  was  scarce  probable 
that  any  such  thing  should  ever  happen,  yet  to  enclose  myself 
among  the  hills  and  woods  in  the  centre  of  the  island,  was  to  an- 
ticipate my  bondage,  and  to  render  such  an  affair  not  only  im- 
probable, but  impossible;  and  that  therefore  I  ought  not  by 
any  means  to  remove. 

However,  I  was  so  enamored  of  this  place,  that  I  spent 
much  of  my  time  there  for  the  whole  remaining  part  of  the 
month  of  July;  and,  though,  upon  second  thoughts,  I  re- 
solved, as  above,  not  to  remove,  yet  I  built  me  a  little  kind  of 
a  bower,  and  surrounded  it  at  a  distance  with  a  strong  fence, 
being  a  double  hedge  as  high  as  I  could  reach,  well  staked, 
and  filled  between  with  brushwood.  And  here  I  lay  very 
secure,  sometimes  two  or  three  nights  together,  always  go- 
ing over  it  with  a  ladder,  as  before ;  so  that  I  fancied  now  I  had 
my  country  house  and  my  seacoast  house;  and  this  work  took 
me  up  to  the  beginning  of  August. 

[133] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  had  but  newly  finished  my  fence,  and  began  to  enjoy 
my  labor,  but  the  rains  came  on,  and  made  me  stick  close  to 
my  first  habitation;  for  though  I  had  mac7 3  me  a  tent  like  the 
other,  with  a  piece  of  a  sail,  and  spread  it  very  well,  yet  I  had 
not  the  shelter  of  a  hill  to  keep  me  from  storms,  nor  a  cave 
behind  me  to  retreat  into  when  the  rains  were  extraor- 
dinary. 

About  the  beginning  of  August,  as  I  said,  I  had  finished 
my  bower,  and  began  to  enjoy  myself.  The  3rd  of  August,  I 
found  the  grapes  I  had  hung  up  were  perfectly  dried,  and  in- 
deed were  excellent  good  raisins  of  the  sun;  so  I  began  to 
take  them  down  from  the  trees.  And  it  was  very  happy  that 
I  did  so,  for  the  rains  which  followed  would  have  spoiled  them, 
and  I  had  lost  the  best  part  of  my  winter  food ;  for  I  had  above 
two  hundred  large  bunches  of  them.  No  sooner  had  I  taken 
them  all  down,  and  carried  most  of  them  home  to  my  cave,  but 
it  began  to  rain;  and  from  hence,  which  was  the  14th  of 
August,  it  rained,  more  or  less,  every  day  till  the  middle  of 
October,  and  sometimes  so  violently,  that  I  could  not  stir  out 
of  my  cave  for  several  days. 

In  this  season,  I  was  much  surprised  with  the  increase  of 
my  family.  I  had  been  concerned  for  the  loss  of  one  of  my 
cats,  who  ran  away  from  me,  or,  as  I  thought,  had  been  dead, 
and  I  heard  no  more  tale  or  tidings  of  her,  till,  to  my  astonish- 
ment, she  came  home  about  the  end  of  August  with  three  kit- 
tens. This  was  the  more  strange  to  me,  because,  though  I  had 
killed  a  wild  cat,  as  I  called  it,  with  my  gun,  yet  I  thought  it 
was  a  quite  different  kind  from  our  European  cats;  yet  the 

[134] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

young  cats  were  the  same  kind  of  house-breed  like  the  old  one ; 
and  both  my  cats  being  females,  I  thought  it  very  strange. 
But  from  these  three  cats  I  afterwards  came  to  be  so  pestered 
with  cats,  that  I  was  forced  to  kill  them  like  vermin,  or  wild 
beasts,  and  to  drive  them  from  my  house  as  much  as  possible. 

From  the  14th  of  August  to  the  26th,  incessant  rain,  so  that 
I  could  not  stir,  and  was  now  very  careful  not  to  be  much  wet. 
In  this  confinement,  I  began  to  be  straitened  for  food;  but 
venturing  out  twice,  I  one  day  killed  a  goat,  and  the  last  day, 
which  was  the  26th,  found  a  very  large  tortoise,  which  was  a 
treat  to  me,  and  my  food  was  regulated  thus :  I  ate  a  bunch  of 
raisins  for  my  breakfast,  a  piece  of  the  goat's  flesh,  or  of  the 
turtle,  for  my  dinner,  broiled;  for,  to  my  great  misfortune,  I 
had  no  vessel  to  boil  or  stew  anything;  and  two  or  three  of  the 
turtle's  eggs  for  my  supper. 

During  this  confinement  in  my  cover  by  the  rain,  I  worked 
daily  two  or  three  hours  at  enlarging  my  cave,  and  by  de- 
grees worked  it  on  towards  one  side,  till  I  came  to  the  outside 
of  the  hill,  and  made  a  door,  or  way  out,  which  came  beyond  my 
fence  or  wall;  and  so  I  came  in  and  out  this  way.  But  I  was 
not  perfectly  easy  at  lying  so  open;  for  as  I  had  managed 
myself  before,  I  was  in  a  perfect  enclosure;  whereas  now,  I 
thought  I  lay  exposed,  and  open  for  anything  to  come  in  upon 
me;  and  yet  I  could  not  perceive  that  there  was  any  living 
thing  to  fear,  the  biggest  creature  that  I  had  yet  seen  upon 
the  island  being  a  goat. 

Sept.  30. — I  was  now  come  to  the  unhappy  anniversary 
my  landing.     I  cast  up  the  notches  on  my  post,  and  found  I 

[135] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

had  been  on  shore  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days.  I  kept 
this  day  as  a  solemn  fast,  setting  it  apart  to  religious  exercise, 
prostrating  myself  on  the  ground  with  the  most  serious  humilia- 
tion, confessing  my  sins  to  God,  acknowledging  His  righteous 
judgments  upon  me,  and  praying  to  Him  to  have  mercy  on 
me  through  Jesus  Christ;  and  having  not  tasted  the  least 
refreshment  for  twelve  hours,  even  till  the  going  down  of 
the  sun,  I  then  ate  a  biscuit-cake  and  a  bunch  of  grapes,  and 
went  to  bed,  finishing  the  day  as  I  began  it. 

I  had  all  this  time  observed  no  Sabbath  day,  for  as  at  first 
I  had  no  sense  of  religion  upon  my  mind,  I  had,  after  some 
time,  omitted  to  distinguish  the  weeks,  by  making  a  longer 
notch  than  ordinary  for  the  Sabbath  day,  and  so  did  not  really 
know  what  any  of  the  days  were.  But  now,  having  cast  up 
the  days,  as  above,  I  found  I  had  been  there  a  year,  so  I 
divided  it  into  weeks,  and  set  apart  every  seventh  day  for  a 
Sabbath;  though  I  found  at  the  end  of  my  account,  I  had  lost 
a  day  or  two  in  my  reckoning. 

A  little  after  this  my  ink  began  to  fail  me,  and  so  I  con- 
tented myself  to  use  it  more  sparingly,  and  to  write  down  only 
the  most  remarkable  events  of  my  life,  without  continuing  a 
daily  memorandum  of  other  things. 

The  rainy  season  and  the  dry  season  began  now  to  appear 
regular  to  me,  and  I  learned  to  divide  them  so  as  to  provide 
for  them  accordingly;  but  I  bought  all  my  experience  before 
I  had  it,  and  this  I  am  going  to  relate  was  one  of  the  most 
discouraging  experiments  that  I  made  at  all.  I  have  men- 
tioned that  I  had  saved  the  few  ears  of  barley  and  rice,  which  I 

[136] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

had  so  surprisingly  found  spring  up,  as  I  thought,  of  them- 
selves, and  believe  there  were  about  thirty  stalks  of  rice,  and 
about  twenty  of  barley;  and  now  I  thought  it  a  proper  time 
to  sow  it  after  the  rains,  the  sun  being  in  its  southern  position, 
going  from  me. 

Accordingly  I  dug  up  a  piece  of  ground  as  well  as  I  could 
with  my  wooden  spade,  and  dividing  it  into  two  parts,  I  sowed 
my  grain;  but  as  I  was  sowing,  it  casually  occurred  to  my 
thoughts  that  I  would  not  sow  it  all  at  first,  because  I  did  not 
know  when  was  the  proper  time  for  it,  so  I  sowed  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  seed,  leaving  about  a  handful  of  each. 

It  was  a  great  comfort  to  me  afterwards  that  I  did  so,  for 
not  one  grain  of  that  I  sowed  this  time  came  to  anything,  for 
the  dry  months  following,  the  earth  having  had  no  rain  after 
the  seed  was  sown,  it  had  no  moisture  to  assist  its  growth,  and 
never  came  up  at  all  till  the  wet  season  had  come  again,  and 
then  it  grew  as  if  it  had  been  but  newly  sown. 

Finding  my  first  seed  did  not  grow,  which  I  easily  imagined 
was  by  the  drought,  I  sought  for  a  moister  piece  of  ground 
to  make  another  trial  in,  and  I  dug  up  a  piece  of  ground 
near  my  new  bower,  and  sowed  the  rest  of  my  seed  in  February, 
a  little  before  the  vernal  equinox.  And  this  having  the  rainy 
months  of  March  and  April  to  water  it,  sprung  up  very  pleas- 
antly, and  yielded  a  very  good  crop;  but  having  part  of  the 
seed  left  only,  and  not  daring  to  sow  all  that  I  had,  I  had  but 
a  small  quantity  at  last,  my  whole  crop  not  amounting  to  above 
half  a  peck  of  each  kind.  But  by  this  experiment  I  was  made 
master  of  my  business,  and  knew  exactly  when  the  proper  sea- 

[137] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

son  was  to  sow,  and  that  I  might  expect  two  seed-times  and  two 
harvests  every  year. 

While  this  corn  was  growing,  I  made  a  little  discovery, 
which  was  of  use  to  me  afterwards.  As  soon  as  the  rains  were 
over,  and  the  weather  began  to  settle,  which  was  about  the 
month  of  November,  I  made  a  visit  up  the  country  to  my 
bower,  where,  though  I  had  not  been  some  months,  yet  I  found 
all  things  just  as  I  left  them.  The  circle  or  double  hedge  that 
I  had  made  was  not  only  firm  and  entire,  but  the  stakes  which 
I  had  cut  out  of  some  trees  that  grew  thereabouts  were  all 
shot  out,  and  grown  with  long  branches,  as  much  as  a  willow- 
tree  usually  shoots  the  first  year  after  lopping  its  head.  I 
could  not  tell  what  tree  to  call  it  that  these  stakes  were  cut 
from.  I  was  surprised,  and  yet  very  well  pleased  to  see  the 
young  trees  grow,  and  I  pruned  them,  and  led  them  up  to  grow 
as  much  alike  as  I  could.  And  it  is  scarce  credible  how  beau- 
tiful a  figure  they  grew  into  in  three  years;  so  that  though  the 
hedge  made  a  circle  of  about  twenty-five  yards  in  diameter,  yet 
the  trees,  for  such  I  might  now  call  them,  soon  covered  it,  and 
it  was  a  complete  shade,  sufficient  to  lodge  under  all  the  dry 
season. 

This  made  me  resolve  to  cut  some  more  stakes,  and  make 
me  a  hedge  like  this,  in  a  semicircle  round  my  wall  (I  mean 
that  of  my  first  dwelling),  which  I  did;  and  placing  the  trees 
or  stakes  in  a  double  row,  at  about  eight  yards  distance  from 
my  first  fence,  they  grew  presently,  and  were  at  first  a  fine 
cover  to  my  habitation,  and  afterward  served  for  a  defence 
also,  as  I  shall  observe  in  its  order. 

[138] 


CHAPTER  XI 

Robinson  Makes  a  Tour  to  Explore  His  Island — Employed  in 

Basket  Making 

I  FOUND  now  that  the  seasons  of  the  year  might  gener- 
ally be  divided,  not  into  summer  and  winter,  as  in  Europe, 
but  into  the  rainy  seasons  and  the  dry  seasons.  The 
rainy  season  sometimes  held  longer  or  shorter  as  the  winds 
happened  to  blow,  but  this  was  the  general  observation  I 
made.  After  I  had  found  by  experience  the  ill  consequence 
of  being  abroad  in  the  rain,  I  took  care  to  furnish  myself  with 
provisions  beforehand,  that  I  might  not  be  obliged  to  go  out; 
and  I  sat  within  doors  as  much  as  possible  during  the  wet 
months. 

In  this  time  I  found  much  employment,  and  very  suitable 
also  to  the  time,  for  I  found  great  occasion  of  many  things 
which  I  had  no  way  to  furnish  myself  with  but  by  hard  labor 
and  constant  application;  particularly,  I  tried  many  ways  to 
make  myself  a  basket;  but  all  the  twigs  I  could  get  for  the 
purpose  proved  so  brittle,  that  they  would  do  nothing.  It 
proved  of  excellent  advantage  to  me  now,  that  when  I  was  a 
boy  I  used  to  take  great  delight  in  standing  at  a  basket-maker's 
in  the  town  where  my  father  lived,  to  see  them  make  their 
wicker-ware;  and  being,  as  boys  usually  are,  very  officious  to 
help,  and  a  great  observer  of  the  manner  how  they  worked 

[139] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

those  things,  and  sometimes  lending  a  hand,  I  had  by  this  means 
full  knowledge  of  the  methods  of  it,  that  I  wanted  nothing  but 
the  materials;  when  it  came  into  my  mind  that  the  twigs  of 
that  tree  from  whence  I  cut  my  stakes  that  grew  might  possibly 
be  as  tough  as  the  sallows,  and  willows,  and  osiers  in  England, 
and  I  resolved  to  try. 

Accordingly,  the  next  day,  I  went  to  my  country  house, 
as  I  called  it;  and  cutting  some  of  the  smaller  twigs,  I  found 
them  to  my  purpose  as  much  as  I  could  desire;  whereupon  I 
came  the  next  time  prepared  with  a  hatchet  to  cut  down  a 
quantity,  which  I  soon  found,  for  there  was  plenty  of  them. 
These  I  set  up  to  dry  within  my  circle  or  hedge,  and  when 
they  were  fit  for  use,  I  carried  them  to  my  cave;  and  here 
during  the  next  season  I  employed  myself  in  making,  as  well 
as  I  could,  a  great  many  baskets,  both  to  carry  earth,  or  to  lay 
up  anything  as  I  had  occasion.  And  though  I  did  not  finish 
them  very  handsomely,  yet  I  made  them  sufficiently  serviceable 
for  my  purpose.  And  thus,  afterwards,  I  took  care  never  to 
be  without  them ;  and  as  my  wicker-ware  decayed,  I  made  more, 
especially  I  made  strong  deep  baskets  to  place  my  corn  in, 
instead  of  sacks,  when  I  should  come  to  have  any  quantity 
of  it. 

Having  mastered  this  difficulty,  and  employed  a  world  of 
time  about  it,  I  bestirred  myself  to  see,  if  possible,  how  to 
supply  two  wants.  I  had  no  vessels  to  hold  anything  that  was 
liquid,  except  two  runlets,  which  were  almost  full  of  rum, 
and  some  glass  bottles,  some  of  the  common  size,  and  others 
which  were   case-bottles  square,   for  the  holding  of  waters, 

[140] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

spirits,  etc.  I  had  not  so  much  as  a  pot  to  boil  anything,  ex- 
cept a  great  kettle,  which  I  saved  out  of  the  ship,  and  which 
was  too  big  for  such  use  as  I  desired  it,  viz.,  to  make  broth, 
and  stew  a  bit  of  meat  by  itself.  The  second  thing  I  would 
fain  have  had  was  a  tobacco-pipe;  but  it  was  impossible  for 
me  to  make  one.  However,  I  found  a  contrivance  for  that, 
too,  at  last. 

I  employed  myself  in  planting  my  second  rows  of  stakes 
or  piles  and  in  this  wicker-working  all  the  summer  or  dry  sea- 
son, when  another  business  took  me  up  more  time  than  it  could 
be  imagined  I  could  spare. 

I  mentioned  before  that  I  had  a  great  mind  to  see  the  whole 
island,  and  that  I  had  travelled  up  the  brook,  and  so  on  to  where 
I  built  my  bower,  and  where  I  had  an  opening  quite  to  the  sea, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  island.  I  now  resolved  to  travel  quite 
across  to  the  seashore  on  that  side ;  so  taking  my  gun,  a  hatchet, 
and  my  dog,  and  a  larger  quantity  of  powder  and  shot  than 
usual,  with  two  biscuit-cakes  and  a  great  bunch  of  raisins  in  my 
pouch  for  my  store,  I  began  my  journey.  When  I  had  passed 
the  vale  where  my  bower  stood,  as  above,  I  came  within  view 
of  the  sea  to  the  west;  and  it  being  a  very  clear  day,  I  fairly 
descried  land,  whether  an  island  or  a  continent  I  could  not  tell ; 
but  it  lay  very  high,  extending  from  the  west  to  the  W.S.W. 
at  a  very  great  distance ;  by  my  guess,  it  could  not  be  less  than 
fifteen  or  twenty  leagues  off. 

I  could  not  tell  what  part  of  the  world  this  might  be,  other- 
wise than  that  I  knew  it  must  be  part  of  America,  and,  as  I 
concluded,  by  all  my  observations,  must  be  near  the  Spanish 

[141] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

dominions,  and  perhaps  was  all  inhabited  by  savages,  where,  if 
I  should  have  landed,  I  had  been  in  a  worse  condition  than  I 
was  now;  and  therefore  I  acquiesced  in  the  dispositions  of 
Providence,  which  I  began  now  to  own  and  to  believe  ordered 
everything  for  the  best.  I  say,  I  quieted  my  mind  with  this, 
and  left  afflicting  myself  with  fruitless  wishes  of  being  there. 

Besides,  after  some  pause  upon  this  affair,  I  considered 
that  if  this  land  was  the  Spanish  coast,  I  should  certainly,  one 
time  or  other,  see  some  vessel  pass  or  repass  one  way  or  other ; 
but  if  not,  then  it  was  the  savage  coast  between  the  Spanish 
country  and  Brazils,  which  are  indeed  the  worst  of  savages; 
for  they  are  cannibals  or  men-eaters,  and  fail  not  to  murder 
and  devour  all  the  human  bodies  that  fall  into  their  hands. 

With  these  considerations  I  walked  very  leisurely  forward. 
I  found  that  side  of  the  island,  where  I  now  was,  much  pleas- 
anter  than  mine,  the  open  or  savanna  fields  sweet,  adorned  with 
flowers  and  full  of  very  fine  woods. 

I  saw  abundance  of  parrots,  and  fain  I  would  have  caught 
one,  if  possible,  to  have  kept  it  to  be  tame,  and  taught  it  to 
speak  to  me.  I  did,  after  some  painstaking,  catch  a  young 
parrot,  for  I  knocked  it  down  with  a  stick,  and  having  re- 
covered it,  I  brought  it  home;  but  it  was  some  years  before  I 
could  make  him  speak.  However,  at  last  I  taught  him  to  call 
me  by  my  name  very  familiarly.  But  the  accident  that  fol- 
lowed, though  it  be  a  trifle,  will  be  very  diverting  in  its  place. 

I  was  exceedingly  diverted  with  this  journey.  I  found 
in  the  low  grounds  hares,  as  I  thought  them  to  be,  and  foxes; 
but  they  differed  greatly  from  all  the  other  kinds  I  had  met 

[142] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

with,  nor  could  I  satisfy  myself  to  eat  them,  though  I  killed 
several.  But  I  had  no  need  to  be  venturous,  for  I  had  no 
want  of  food,  and  of  that  which  was  very  good  too;  especially 
these  three  sorts,  viz.,  goats,  pigeons,  and  turtle,  or  tortoise; 
which,  added  to  my  grapes,  Leadenhall  Market  could  not  have 
furnished  a  table  better  than  I,  in  proportion  to  the  company. 
And  though  my  case  was  deplorable  enough,  yet  I  had  great 
cause  for  thankfulness,  and  that  I  was  not  driven  to  any  ex- 
tremities for  food,  but  rather  plenty,  even  to  dainties. 

I  never  travelled  in  this  journey  above  two  miles  outright 
in  a  day,  or  thereabouts ;  but  I  took  so  many  turns  and  returns, 
to  see  what  discoveries  I  could  make,  that  I  came  weary  enough 
to  the  place  where  I  resolved  to  sit  down  for  all  night ;  and  then 
I  either  reposed  nryself  in  a  tree,  or  surrounded  myself  with 
a  row  of  stakes,  set  upright  in  the  ground,  either  from  one  tree 
to  another,  or  so  as  no  wild  creature  could  come  at  me  without 
waking  me. 

As  soon  as  I  came  to  the  seashore,  I  was  surprised  to 
see  that  I  had  taken  up  my  lot  on  the  worst  side  of  the  island, 
for  here  indeed  the  shore  was  covered  with  innumerable  turtles ; 
whereas,  on  the  other  side,  I  had  found  but  three  in  a  year 
and  a  half.  Here  was  also  an  infinite  number  of  fowls  of 
many  kinds,  some  which  I  had  seen,  and  some  which  I  had  not 
seen  before,  and  many  of  them  very  good  meat,  but  such  as  I 
knew  not  the  names  of  except  those  called  penguins. 

I  could  have  shot  as  many  as  I  pleased,  but  was  very  spar- 
ing of  my  powder  and  shot,  and  therefore  had  more  mind  to 
kill  a  she-goat,  if  I  could,  which  I  could  better  feed  on;  and 

[143] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

though  there  were  many  goats  here,  more  than  on  my  side  the 
island,  yet  it  was  with  much  more  difficulty  that  I  could  come 
near  them,  the  country  being  flat  and  even,  and  they  saw  me 
much  sooner  than  when  I  was  on  the  hill. 

I  confess  this  side  of  the  country  was  much  pleasanter  than 
mine;  but  yet  I  had  not  the  least  inclination  to  remove,  for 
as  I  was  fixed  in  my  habitation,  it  became  natural  to  me,  and 
I  seemed  all  the  while  I  was  here  to  be  as  it  were  upon  a 
journey,  and  from  home.  However,  I  travelled  along  the 
shore  of  the  sea  towards  the  east,  I  suppose  about  twelve  miles, 
and  then  setting  up  a  great  pole  upon  the  shore  for  a  mark, 
I  concluded  I  would  go  home  again;  and  that  the  next  journey 
I  took  should  be  on  the  other  side  of  the  island,  east  from  my 
dwelling,  and  so  round  till  I  came  to  my  post  again;  of  which 
in  its  place. 

I  took  another  way  to  come  back  than  that  I  went,  think- 
ing I  could  easily  keep  all  the  island  so  much  in  my  view,  that 
I  could  not  miss  finding  my  first  dwelling  by  viewing  the 
country.  But  I  found  myself  mistaken ;  for  being  come  about 
two  or  three  miles,  I  found  myself  descended  into  a  very  large 
valley,  but  so  surrounded  with  hills,  and  those  hills  covered 
with  wood,  that  I  could  not  see  which  was  my  way  by  any 
direction  but  that  of  the  sun,  nor  even  then,  unless  I  knew 
very  well  the  position  of  the  sun  at  that  time  of  the  day. 

It  happened  to  my  farther  misfortune,  that  the  weather 
proved  hazy  for  three  or  four  days  while  I  was  in  this  valley; 
and  not  being  able  to  see  the  sun,  I  wandered  about  very  un- 
comfortably, and  at  last  was  obliged  to  find  out  the  seaside, 

[144] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

look  for  my  post,  and  come  back  the  same  way  I  went;  and 
then  by  easy  journeys  I  turned  homeward,  the  weather  being 
exceeding  hot,  and  my  gun,  ammunition,  hatchet,  and  other 
things  very  heavy. 


[145] 


CHAPTER  XII 

He  Returns  to  His  Cave — His  Agricultural  Labors  and  Success 

IN"  this  journey  my  dog  surprised  a  young  kid,  and  seized 
upon  it,  and  I  running  in  to  take  hold  of  it,  caught  it, 
and  saved  it  alive  from  the  dog.  I  had  a  great  mind  to 
bring  it  home  if  I  could,  for  I  had  often  been  musing  whether 
it  might  not  be  possible  to  get  a  kid  or  two,  and  so  raise  a  breed 
of  tame  goats,  which  might  supply  me  when  my  powder  and 
shot  should  be  all  spent. 

I  made  a  collar  to  this  little  creature,  and  with  a  string, 
which  I  made  of  some  rope-yarn,  which  I  always  carried  about 
me,  I  led  him  along,  though  with  some  difficulty,  till  I  came 
to  my  bower,  and  there  I  enclosed  him  and  left  him,  for  I  was 
very  impatient  to  be  at  home,  from  whence  I  had  been  absent 
above  a  month. 

I  cannot  express  what  a  satisfaction  it  was  to  me  to  come 
into  my  old  hutch,  and  lie  down  in  my  hammock- bed.  This 
little  wandering  journey,  without  settled  place  of  abode,  had 
been  so  unpleasant  to  me,  that  my  own  house,  as  I  called  it  to 
myself,  was  a  perfect  settlement  to  be  compared  to  that;  and  it 
rendered  everything  about  me  so  comfortable,  that  I  resolved 
I  would  never  go  a  great  way  from  it  again,  while  it  should 
be  my  lot  to  stay  on  the  island. 

I  reposed  myself  here  a  week,  to  rest  and  regale  myseF 

[146] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

after  my  long  journey;  during  which  most  of  the  time  was 
taken  up  in  the  weighty  affair  of  making  a  cage  for  my  Poll, 
who  began  now  to  be  a  mere  domestic,  and  to  be  mighty  well 
acquainted  with  me.  Then  I  began  to  think  of  the  poor  kid 
which  I  had  penned  in  within  my  little  circle,  and  resolved  to 
go  and  fetch  it  home,  or  give  it  some  food.  Accordingly  I 
went,  and  found  it  where  I  left  it,  for  indeed  it  could  not  get 
out,  but  almost  starved  for  want  of  food.  I  went  and  cut 
boughs  of  trees,  and  branches  of  such  shrubs  as  I  could  find, 
and  threw  it  over,  and  having  fed  it,  I  tied  it  as  I  did  before, 
to  lead  it  away;  but  it  was  so  tame  with  being  hungry,  that 
I  had  no  need  to  have  tied  it,  for  it  followed  me  like  a  dog. 
And  as  I  continually  fed  it,  the  creature  became  so  loving, 
so  gentle,  and  so  fond,  that  it  became  from  that  time  one  of 
my  domestics  also,  and  would  never  leave  me  afterwards. 

The  rainy  season  of  the  autumnal  equinox  was  now  come, 
and  I  kept  the  30th  of  September  in  the  same  solemn  manner 
as  before,  being  the  anniversary  of  my  landing  on  the  island, 
having  now  been  there  two  years,  and  no  more  prospect  of  be- 
ing delivered  than  the  first  day  I  came  there.  I  spent  the 
whole  day  in  humble  and  thankful  acknowledgments  of  the 
many  wonderful  mercies  which  my  solitary  condition  was  at- 
tended with,  and  without  which  it  might  have  been  infinitely 
more  miserable.  I  gave  humble  and  hearty  thanks  that  God 
had  been  pleased  to  discover  to  me  even  that  it  was  possible 
I  might  be  more  happy  in  this  solitary  condition,  than  I  should 
have  been  in  a  liberty  of  society,  and  in  all  the  pleasures  of 
the  world;  that  He  could  fully  make  up  to  me  the  deficiencies 

[147] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

of  my  solitary  state,  and  the  want  of  human  society,  by  His 
presence,  and  the  communications  of  His  grace  to  my  soul,  sup- 
porting, comforting,  and  encouraging  me  to  depend  upon  His 
providence  here,  and  hope  for  His  eternal  presence  hereafter. 

It  was  now  that  I  began  sensibly  to  feel  how  much  more 
happy  this  life  I  now  led  was,  with  all  its  miserable  circum- 
stances, than  the  wicked,  cursed,  abominable  life  I  led  all  the 
past  part  of  my  days.  And  now  I  changed  both  my  sorrows 
and  my  joys;  my  very  desires  altered,  my  affections  changed 
their  gusts,  and  my  delights  were  perfectly  new  from  what 
they  were  at  my  first  coming,  or  indeed  for  the  two  years 
past. 

Before,  as  I  walked  about,  either  on  my  hunting,  or  for 
viewing  the  country,  the  anguish  of  my  soul  at  my  condition 
would  break  out  upon  me  on  a  sudden,  and  my  very  heart 
would  die  within  me,  to  think  of  the  woods,  the  mountains,  the 
deserts  I  was  in,  and  how  I  was  a  prisoner,  locked  up  with  the 
eternal  bars  and  bolts  of  the  ocean,  in  an  uninhabited  wilder- 
ness, without  redemption.  In  the  midst  of  the  greatest  com- 
posures of  my  mind,  this  would  break  out  upon  me  like  a 
storm,  and  make  me  wring  my  hands,  and  weep  like  a  child. 
Sometimes  it  would  take  me  in  the  middle  of  my  work,  and 
I  would  immediately  sit  down  and  sigh,  and  look  upon  the 
ground  for  an  hour  or  two  together;  and  this  was  still  worse 
to  me,  for  if  I  could  burst  out  into  tears,  or  vent  myself  by 
words,  it  would  go  off,  and  the  grief,  having  exhausted  itself, 
would  abate. 

But  now  I  began  to  exercise  myself  with  new  thoughts. 

[148] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  daily  read  the  Word  of  God,  and  applied  all  the  comforts 
of  it  to  my  present  state.  One  morning,  being  very  sad,  I 
opened  the  Bible  upon  these  words,  "I  will  never,  never  leave 
thee,  nor  forsake  thee."  Immediately  it  occurred  that  these 
words  were  to  me;  why  else  should  they  be  directed  in  such  a 
manner,  just  at  the  moment  when  I  was  mourning  over  my 
condition,  as  one  forsaken  of  God  and  man?  "Well,  then," 
said  I,  "if  God  does  not  forsake  me,  of  what  ill  consequence 
can  it  be,  or  what  matters  it,  though  the  world  should  all  for- 
sake me,  seeing  on  the  other  hand  if  I  had  all  the  world,  and 
should  lose  the  favor  and  blessing  of  God,  there  would  be  no 
comparison  in  the  loss?" 

From  this  moment  I  began  to  conclude  in  my  mind  that 
it  was  possible  for  me  to  be  more  happy  in  this  forsaken  soli- 
tary condition,  than  it  was  probable  I  should  ever  have  been 
in  any  other  particular  state  in  the  world,  and  with  this  thought 
I  was  going  to  give  thanks  to  God  for  bringing  me  to  this 
place. 

I  know  not  what  it  was,  but  something  shocked  my  mind 
at  that  thought,  and  I  durst  not  speak  the  words.  "How 
canst  thou  be  such  a  hypocrite,"  said  I,  even  audibly,  "to 
pretend  to  be  thankful  for  a  condition  which,  however  thou 
mayest  endeavor  to  be  contented  with,  thou  wouldest  rather 
pray  heartily  to  be  delivered  from?"  So  I  stopped  there;  but 
though  I  could  not  say  I  thanked  God  for  being  there,  yet 
I  sincerely  gave  thanks  to  God  for  opening  my  eyes,  by  what- 
ever afflicting  providences,  to  see  the  former  condition  of  my 
life,  and  to  mourn  for  my  wickedness,  and  repent.     I  never 

[149] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

opened  the  Bible,  or  shut  it,  but  my  very  soul  within  me  blessed 
God  for  directing  my  friend  in  England,  without  any  order 
of  mine,  to  pack  it  up  among  my  goods,  and  for  assisting  me 
afterwards  to  save  it  out  of  the  wreck  of  the  ship. 

Thus,  and  in  this  disposition  of  mind,  I  began  my  third 
year;  and  though  I  have  not  given  the  reader  the  trouble  of 
so  particular  account  of  my  works  this  year  as  the  first,  yet  in 
general  it  may  be  observed,  that  I  was  very  seldom  idle,  but 
having  regularly  divided  my  time,  according  to  the  several 
daily  employments  that  were  before  me,  such  as,  first,  my  duty 
to  God,  and  the  reading  the  Scriptures,  which  I  constantly 
set  apart  some  time  for,  thrice  every  day;  secondly,  the  going 
abroad  with  my  gun  for  food,  which  generally  took  me  up  three 
hours  in  every  morning,  when  it  did  not  rain ;  thirdly,  the  order- 
ing, curing,  preserving,  and  cooking  what  I  had  killed  or 
caught  for  my  supply;  these  took  up  a  great  part  of  the  day; 
also,  it  is  to  be  considered  that  the  middle  of  the  day,  when  the 
sun  was  in  the  zenith,  the  violence  of  the  heat  was  too  great  to 
stir  out;  so  that  about  four  hours  in  the  evening  was  all  the 
time  I  could  be  supposed  to  work  in,  with  this  exception,  that 
sometimes  I  changed  my  hours  of  hunting  and  working,  and 
went  to  work  in  the  morning,  and  abroad  with  my  gun  in  the 
afternoon. 

To  this  short  time  allowed  for  labor,  I  desire  may  be  added 
the  exceeding  laboriousness  of  my  work ;  the  many  hours  which, 
for  want  of  tools,  want  of  help,  and  want  of  skill,  everything 
I  did  took  up  out  of  my  time.  For  example,  I  was  full  two 
and  forty  days  making  me  a  board  for  a  long  shelf,  which  I 

[150] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

wanted  in  my  cave ;  whereas  two  sawyers,  with  their  tools  and  a 
saw-pit,  would  have  cut  six  of  them  out  of  the  same  tree  in  half 
a  day. 

My  case  was  this:  it  was  to  be  a  large  tree  which  was  to 
be  cut  down,  because  my  board  was  to  be  a  broad  one.  This 
tree  I  was  three  days  a-cutting  down,  and  two  more  cutting 
off  the  boughs,  and  reducing  it  to  a  log,  or  piece  of  timber. 
With  inexpressible  hacking  and  hewing,  I  reduced  both  the 
sides  of  it  into  chips  till  it  begun  to  be  light  enough  to  move ; 
then  I  turned  it,  and  made  one  side  of  it  smooth  and  flat  as  a 
board  from  end  to  end ;  then  turning  that  side  downward,  cut 
the  other  side,  till  I  brought  the  plank  to  be  about  three  inches 
thick,  and  smooth  on  both  sides.  Any  one  may  judge  the 
labor  of  my  hands  in  such  a  piece  of  work ;  but  labor  and  pa- 
tience carried  me  through  that,  and  many  other  things.  I 
only  observe  this  in  particular,  to  show  the  reason  why  so  much 
of  my  time  went  away  with  so  little  work,  viz.,  that  what  might 
be  a  little  to  be  done  with  help  and  tools  was  a  vast  labor  and 
required  a  prodigious  time  to  do  alone,  and  by  hand.  But  not- 
withstanding this,  with  patience  and  labor,  I  went  through 
many  things,  and,  indeed,  everj^thing  that  my  circumstances 
made  necessary  to  me  to  do,  as  will  appear  by  what  follows. 

I  was  now,  in  the  months  of  November  and  December, 
expecting  my  crop  of  barley  and  rice.  The  ground  I  had 
manured  or  dug  up  for  them  was  not  great ;  for  as  I  observed, 
my  seed  of  each  was  not  above  the  quantity  of  half  a  peck ;  for 
I  had  lost  one  whole  crop  by  sowing  in  the  dry  season.  But 
now  my  crop  promised  very  well,  when  of  a  sudden  I  found 

[151] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  was  in  danger  of  losing  it  all  again  by  enemies  of  several  sorts, 
which  it  was  scarce  possible  to  keep  from  it ;  as,  first  the  goats 
and  wild  creatures  which  I  called  hares,  who,  tasting  the  sweet- 
ness of  the  blade,  lay  in  it  night  and  day,  as  soon  as  it  came  up, 
and  ate  it  so  close,  that  it  could  get  no  time  to  shoot  up  into 
stalk. 

This  I  saw  no  remedy  for  but  by  making  an  enclosure 
about  it  with  a  hedge,  which  I  did  with  a  great  deal  of  toil,  and 
the  more,  because  it  required  speed.  However,  as  my  arable 
land  was  but  small,  suited  to  my  crop,  I  got  it  totally  well 
fenced  in  about  three  weeks'  time,  and  shooting  some  of  the 
creatures  in  the  daytime,  I  set  my  dog  to  guard  it  in  the  night, 
tying  him  up  to  a  stake  at  the  gate,  where  he  would  stand  and 
bark  all  night  long;  so  in  a  little  time  the  enemies  forsook  the 
place,  and  the  corn  grew  very  strong  and  well,  and  began  to 
ripen  apace. 

But  as  the  beasts  ruined  me  before  while  my  corn  was  in 
the  blade,  so  the  birds  were  as  likely  to  ruin  me  now  when  it 
was  in  the  ear;  for  going  along  by  the  place  to  see  how  it 
throve,  I  saw  my  little  crop  surrounded  with  fowls,  of  I  know 
not  how  many  sorts,  who  stood,  as  it  were,  watching  till  I  should 
be  gone.  I  immediately  let  fly  among  them,  for  I  always  had 
my  gun  with  me.  I  had  no  sooner  shot,  but  there  rose  up  a 
little  cloud  of  fowls,  which  I  had  not  seen  at  all,  from  among 
the  corn  itself. 

This  touched  me  sensibly,  for  I  foresaw  that  in  a  few  days 
they  would  devour  all  my  hopes,  that  I  should  be  starved, 
and  never  be  able  to  raise  a  crop  at  all,  and  what  to  do  I  could 

[152] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

not  tell.  However,  I  resolved  not  to  lose  my  corn,  if  possible, 
though  I  should  watch  it  night  and  day.  In  the  first  place,  I 
went  among  it  to  see  what  damage  was  already  done,  and  found 
they  had  spoiled  a  good  deal  of  it;  but  that  as  it  was  yet  too 
green  for  them,  the  loss  was  not  so  great  but  that  the  remainder 
was  like  to  be  a  good  crop  if  it  could  be  saved. 

I  stayed  by  it  to  load  my  gun,  and  then  coming  away,  I 
could  easily  see  the  thieves  sitting  upon  all  the  trees  about  me, 
as  if  they  only  waited  till  I  was  gone  away.  And  the  event 
proved  it  to  be  so ;  for  as  I  walked  off,  as  if  I  was  gone,  I  was 
no  sooner  out  of  their  sight  but  they  dropped  down,  one  by  one, 
into  the  corn  again.  I  was  so  provoked,  that  I  could  not  have 
patience  to  stay  till  more  came  on,  knowing  that  every  grain 
that  they  ate  now  was,  as  it  might  be  said,  a  peck-loaf  to  me 
in  the  consequence ;  but  coming  up  to  the  hedge,  I  fired  again, 
and  killed  three  of  them.  This  was  what  I  wished  for;  so  I 
took  them  up,  and  served  them  as  we  serve  notorious  thieves  in 
England,  viz.,  hanged  them  in  chains,  for  a  terror  to  others.  It 
is  impossible  to  imagine  almost  that  this  should  have  such  an 
effect  as  it  had,  for  the  fowls  would  not  only  not  come  at  the 
corn,  but,  in  short,  they  forsook  all  that  part  of  the  island,  and 
I  could  never  see  a  bird  near  the  place  as  long  as  my  scare- 
crows hung  there. 

This  I  was  very  glad  of,  you  may  be  sure;  and  about  the 
latter  end  of  December,  which  was  our  second  harvest  of  the 
year,  I  reaped  my  crop. 

I  was  sadly  put  to  it  for  a  scythe  or  a  sickle  to  cut  it  down, 
and  all  I  could  do  was  to  make  one  as  well  as  I  could  out  of 

[153] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

one  of  the  broadswords,  or  cutlasses,  which  I  saved  among 
the  arms  out  of  the  ship.  However,  as  my  first  crop  was  but 
small,  I  had  no  great  difficulty  to  cut  it  down;  in  short,  I 
reaped  it  my  way,  for  I  cut  nothing  off  but  the  ears,  and  car- 
ried it  away  in  a  great  basket  which  I  had  made,  and  so  rubbed 
it  out  with  my  hands;  and  at  the  end  of  all  my  harvesting,  I 
found  that  out  of  my  half  peck  of  seed  I  had  near  two  bushels 
of  rice,  and  above  two  bushels  and  a  half  of  barley,  that  is  to 
say,  by  my  guess,  for  I  had  no  measure  at  that  time. 

However,  this  was  a  great  encouragement  to  me,  and  I 
foresaw  that,  in  time,  it  would  please  God  to  supply  me  with 
bread.  And  yet  here  I  was  perplexed  again,  for  I  neither 
knew  how  to  grind  or  make  meal  of  my  corn,  or  indeed  how  to 
clean  it  and  part  it ;  nor,  if  made  into  meal,  how  to  make  bread 
of  it,  and  if  how  to  make  it,  yet  I  knew  not  how  to  bake  it. 
These  things  being  added  to  my  desire  of  having  a  good 
quantity  for  store,  and  to  secure  a  constant  supply,  I  resolved 
not  to  taste  any  of  this  crop,  but  to  preserve  it  all  for  seed 
against  the  next  season,  and,  in  the  meantime,  to  employ  all 
my  study  and  hours  of  working  to  accomplish  this  great  work 
of  providing  myself  with  corn  and  bread. 

It  might  be  truly  said,  that  now  I  worked  for  my  bread. 
'Tis  a  little  wonderful,  and  what  I  believe  few  people  have 
thought  much  upon,  viz.,  the  strange  multitude  of  little  things 
necessary  in  the  providing,  producing,  curing,  dressing,  mak- 
ing, and  finishing  this  one  article  of  bread. 

I,  that  was  reduced  to  a  mere  state  of  nature,  found  this 
to  my  daily  discouragement,  and  was  made  more  and  more 

[154] 


©   C.    B.    C. 


"  I  reaped  it  my  way,  for  I  cut  nothing  off  but  the  ears,  and  carried  it  away 
in  a  great  basket  which  I  had  made  " 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

sensible  of  it  every  hour,  even  after  I  had  got  the  first  hand- 
ful of  seed-corn,  which,  as  I  have  said,  came  up  unexpectedly, 
and  indeed  to  a  surprise. 

First,  I  had  no  plough  to  turn  up  the  earth,  no  spade  or 
shovel  to  dig  it.  Well,  this  I  conquered  by  making  a  wooden 
spade,  as  I  observed  before,  but  this  did  my  work  in  but  a 
wooden  manner;  and  though  it  cost  me  a  great  many  days  to 
make  it,  yet,  for  want  of  iron,  it  not  only  wore  out  the  sooner, 
but  made  my  work  the  harder,  and  made  it  be  performed  much 
worse. 

However,  this  I  bore  with,  and  was  content  to  work  it  out 
with  patience,  and  bear  with  the  badness  of  the  performance. 
When  the  corn  was  sowed,  I  had  no  harrow,  but  was  forced  to 
go  over  it  myself,  and  drag  a  great  heavy  bough  of  a  tree  over 
it,  to  scratch  it,  as  it  may  be  called,  rather  than  rake  or 
harrow  it. 

When  it  was  growing  and  grown,  I  have  observed  already 
how  many  things  I  wanted  to  fence  it,  secure  it,  mow  or  reap 
it,  cure  and  carry  it  home,  thrash,  part  it  from  the  chaff,  and 
save  it.  Then  I  wanted  a  mill  to  grind  it,  sieves  to  dress  it, 
yeast  and  salt  to  make  it  into  bread,  and  an  oven  to  bake  it, 
and  yet  all  these  things  I  did  without,  as  shall  be  observed; 
and  yet  the  corn  was  an  inestimable  comfort  and  advantage  to 
me  too.  All  this,  as  I  said,  made  everything  laborious  and 
edious  to  me,  but  that  there  was  no  help  for;  neither  was  my 
Lime  so  much  loss  to  me,  because,  as  I  had  divided  it,  a  certain 
part  of  it  was  every  day  appointed  to  these  works,  and  as  I  re- 
solved to  use  none  of  the  corn  for  bread  till  I  had  a  greater 

[155] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

quantity  by  me,  I  had  the  next  six  months  to  apply  myself 
wholly,  by  labor  and  invention,  to  furnish  myself  with  utensils 
proper  for  the  performing  all  the  operations  necessary  for 
the  making  the  corn,  when  I  had  it,  fit  for  my  use. 


[156] 


CHAPTER  XIII 

His  Manufacture  of  Pottery,  and  Contrivances  for  Baking  Bread 

BUT  first  I  was  to  prepare  more  land,  for  I  had  now 
seed  enough  to  sow  above  an  acre  of  ground.  Before 
I  did  this,  I  had  a  week's  work  at  least  to  make  me  a 
spade,  which,  when  it  was  done,  was  but  a  sorry  one  indeed, 
and  very  heavy,  and  required  double  labor  to  work  with  it. 
However,  I  went  through  that,  and  sowed  my  seed  in  two 
large  flat  pieces  of  ground,  as  near  my  house  as  I  could  find 
them  to  my  mind,  and  fenced  them  in  with  a  good  hedge,  the 
stakes  of  which  were  all  cut  of  that  wood  which  I  had  set  be- 
fore, and  knew  it  would  grow;  so  that  in  one  year's  time  I 
knew  I  should  have  a  quick  or  living  hedge,  that  would  want 
but  little  repair.  This  work  was  not  so  little  as  to  take  me 
up  less  than  three  months,  because  great  part  of  that  time  was 
of  the  wet  season,  when  I  could  not  go  abroad. 

Within  doors,  that  is,  when  it  rained,  and  I  could  not  go 
out,  I  found  employment  on  the  following  occasions;  always 
observing,  that  all  the  while  I  was  at  work,  I  diverted  myself 
with  talking  to  my  parrot,  and  teaching  him  to  speak,  and  I 
quickly  taught  him  to  know  his  own  name,  and  at  last  to 
speak  it  out  pretty  loud,  "Poll,"  which  was  the  first  word  I 
ever  heard  spoken  in  the  island  by  any  mouth  but  my  own. 
This,  therefore,  was  not  my  work,  but  an  assistant  to  my 

[157] 


ROBIXSON    CRUSOE 

work;  for  now,  as  I  said,  I  had  a  great  employment  upon  my 
hands,  as  follows,  viz.,  I  had  long  studied,  by  some  means  or 
other  to  make  myself  some  earthern  vessels,  which  indeed  I 
wanted  sorely,  but  knew  not  where  to  come  at  them.  However, 
considering  the  heat  of  the  climate,  I  did  not  doubt  but  if  I 
could  find  out  any  such  clay,  I  might  botch  up  some  such  pot  as 
might,  being  dried  in  the  sun,  be  hard  enough  and  strong 
enough  to  bear  handling,  and  to  hold  anything  that  was  dry, 
and  required  to  be  kept  so;  and  as  this  was  necessary  in  the 
preparing  corn,  meal,  etc.,  which  was  the  thing  I  was  upon,  I 
resolved  to  make  some  as  large  as  I  could,  and  fit  only  to 
stand  jars,  to  hold  what  should  be  put  into  them. 

It  would  make  the  reader  pity  me,  or  rather  laugh  at  me, 
to  tell  how  many  awkward  ways  I  took  to  raise  this  paste ;  what 
odd,  misshapen,  ugly  things  I  made ;  how  many  of  them  fell  in, 
and  how  many  fell  out,  the  clay  not  being  stiff  enough  to  bear 
its  own  weight ;  how  many  cracked  by  the  over-violent  heat  of 
the  sun,  being  set  out  too  hastily ;  and  how  many  fell  in  pieces 
with  only  removing,  as  well  before  as  after  they  were  dried; 
and,  in  a  word,  how,  after  having  labored  hard  to  find  the 
clay,  to  dig  it,  to  temper  it,  to  bring  it  home,  and  work  it,  I 
could  not  make  above  two  large  earthen  ugly  things  ( I  cannot 
call  them  jars)  in  about  two  months'  labor. 

However,  as  the  sun  baked  these  two  very  dry  and  hard,  I 
lifted  them  very  gently  up,  and  set  them  down  again  in  two 
great  wicker  baskets,  which  I  had  made  on  purpose  for  them, 
that  they  might  not  break;  and  as  between  the  pot  and  the 
basket  there  was  a  little  room  to  spare,  I  stuffed  it  full  of  the 

[158] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

rice  and  barley  straw,  and  these  two  pots  being  to  stand  al- 
ways dry,  I  thought  would  hold  my  dry  corn,  and  perhaps  the 
meal,  when  the  corn  was  bruised. 

Though  I  miscarried  so  much  in  my  design  for  large  pots, 
yet  I  made  several  smaller  things  with  better  success;  such 
as  little  round  pots,  flat  dishes,  pitchers,  and  pipkins,  and  any 
things  my  hand  turned  to ;  and  the  heat  of  the  sun  baked  them 
strangely  hard.  But  all  this  would  not  aswer  my  end,  which 
was  to  get  an  earthen  pot  to  hold  what  was  liquid,  and  bear  the 
fire,  which  none  of  these  could  do.  It  happened  after  some 
time,  making  a  pretty  large  fire  for  cooking  my  meat,  when 
I  went  to  put  it  out  after  I  had  done  with  it,  I  found  a  broken 
piece  of  one  of  my  earthenware  vessels  in  the  fire,  burnt  as  hard 
as  a  stone,  and  red  as  a  tile.  I  was  agreeably  surprised  to 
see  it,  and  said  to  myself,  that  certainly  they  might  be  made 
to  burn  whole,  if  they  would  burn  broken. 

This  set  me  to  studying  how  to  order  my  fire,  so  as  to  make 
it  burn  me  some  pots.  I  had  no  notion  of  a  kiln,  such  as  the 
potters  burn  in,  or  of  glazing  them  with  lead,  though  I  had 
some  lead  to  do  it  with ;  but  I  placed  three  large  pipkins,  and 
two  or  three  pots  in  a  pile,  one  upon  another,  and  placed  my 
firewood  all  around  it,  with  a  great  heap  of  embers  under  them. 
I  plied  the  fire  with  fresh  fuel  round  the  outside,  and  upon  the 
top,  till  I  saw  the  pots  in  the  inside  red-hot  quite  through,  and 
observed  that  they  did  not  crack  at  all.  When  I  saw  them  clear 
red,  I  let  them  stand  in  that  heart  about  five  or  six  hours, 
till  I  found  one  of  them,  though  it  did  not  crack,  did  melt  or 
run,  for  the  sand  which  was  mixed  with  the  clay  melted  by  the 

[159] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

violence  of  the  heat,  and  would  have  run  into  glass,  if  I  had  gone 
on ;  so  I  slacked  my  fire  gradually  till  the  pots  began  to  abate 
of  the  red  color ;  and  watching  them  all  night,  that  I  might  not 
let  the  fire  abate  too  fast,  in  the  morning  I  had  three  very 
good,  I  will  not  say  handsome,  pipkins,  and  two  other  earthen 
pots,  as  hard  burnt  as  could  be  desired,  and  one  of  them  per- 
fectly glazed  with  the  running  of  the  sand. 

After  this  experiment,  I  need  not  say  that  I  wanted  no  sort 
of  earthenware  for  my  use;  but  I  must  needs  say,  as  to  the 
shapes  of  them,  they  were  very  indifferent,  as  any  one  may 
suppose,  when  I  had  no  way  of  making  them  but  as  the  chil- 
dren make  dirt  pies,  or  as  a  woman  would  make  pies  that  never 
learned  to  raise  paste. 

~No  joy  at  a  thing  of  so  mean  a  nature  was  ever  equal  to 
mine,  when  I  found  I  had  made  an  earthen  pot  that  would 
bear  fire ;  and  I  had  hardly  patience  to  stay  till  they  were  cold, 
before  I  set  one  on  the  fire  again,  with  some  water  in  it,  to 
boil  me  some  meat,  which  it  did  admirably  well;  and  with  a 
piece  of  a  kid  I  made  some  very  good  broth,  though  I  wanted 
oatmeal  and  several  other  ingredients  requisite  to  make  it  so 
good  as  I  would  have  had  it  been. 

My  next  concern  was  to  get  me  a  stone  mortar  to  stamp  or 
beat  some  corn  in;  for  as  to  the  mill,  there  was  no  thought 
of  arriving  to  that  perfection  of  art  with  one  pair  of  hands. 
To  supply  this  want  I  was  at  a  great  loss ;  for,  of  all  trades  in 
the  world,  I  was  as  perfectly  unqualified  for  a  stone-cutter 
as  for  any  whatever;  neither  had  I  any  tools  to  go  about  it 
with.     I  spent  many  a  day  to  find  out  a  great  stone  big 

[160] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

enough  to  cut  hollow,  and  make  it  fit  for  a  mortar,  and  could 
find  none  at  all,  except  what  was  in  the  solid  rock,  and  which 
I  had  no  way  to  dig  or  cut  out;  nor  indeed  were  the  rocks  in 
the  island  of  hardness  sufficient,  but  were  all  of  a  sandy  crum- 
bling stone,  which  neither  would  bear  the  weight  of  a  heavy 
pestle  or  would  break  the  corn  without  filling  it  with  sand.  So, 
after  a  great  deal  of  time  lost  in  searching  for  a  stone,  I  gave 
it  over,  and  resolved  to  look  about  for  a  great  block  of  hard 
wood,  which  I  found  indeed  much  easier;  and  getting  one  as 
big  as  I  had  strength  to  stir,  I  rounded  it,  and  formed  it  in 
the  outside  with  my  axe  and  hatchet,  and  then,  with  the  help 
of  fire,  and  infinite  labor,  made  a  hollow  place  in  it,  as  the 
Indians  in  Brazil  make  their  canoes.  After  this,  I  made  a 
great  heavy  pestle  or  beater,  of  the  wood  called  the  iron-wood ; 
and  this  I  prepared  and  laid  by  against  I  had  my  next  crop 
of  corn,  when  I  proposed  to  myself  to  grind,  or  rather  pound, 
my  corn  into  meal,  to  make  my  bread. 

My  next  difficulty  was  to  make  a  sieve,  or  search,  to  dress 
my  meal,  and  to  part  it  from  the  bran  and  the  husk,  without 
which  I  did  not  see  it  possible  I  could  have  any  bread.  This 
was  a  most  difficult  thing,  so  much  as  but  to  think  on,  for  to 
be  sure  I  had  nothing  like  the  necessary  thing  to  make  it;  I 
mean  fine  thin  canvas  or  stuff,  to  search  the  meal  through. 

And  here  I  was  at  a  full  stop  for  many  months,  nor  did  I 
really  know  what  to  do;  linen  I  had  none  left,  but  what  was 
mere  rags ;  I  had  goat's  hair,  but  neither  knew  I  how  to  weave 
it  nor  spin  it ;  and.  had  I  known  how,  there  were  no  tools  to  work 
it  with.     All  the  remedy  I  found  for  this  was,  that  at  last  I  did 

[161] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

remember  I  had,  among  the  seamen's  clothes  which  were  saved 
out  of  the  ship,  some  neckcloths  of  calico  or  muslin;  and  with 
some  pieces  of  these  I  made  three  small  sieves,  but  proper 
enough  for  the  work;  and  thus  I  made  shift  for  some  years. 
How  I  did  afterwards,  I  shall  show  in  its  place. 

The  baking  part  was  the  next  thing  to  be  considered,  and 
how  I  should  make  bread  when  I  came  to  have  corn;  for,  first, 
I  had  no  yeast.  As  to  that  part,  as  there  was  no  supplying 
the  want,  so  I  did  not  concern  myself  much  about  it;  but  for 
an  oven  I  was  indeed  in  great  pain.  At  length  I  found  out  an 
experiment  for  that  also,  which  was  this :  I  made  some  earthen 
vessels  very  broad,  but  not  deep,  that  is  to  say,  about  two  feet 
diameter,  and  not  above  nine  inches  deep ;  these  I  burned  in  the 
fire,  as  I  had  done  the  other,  and  laid  them  by;  and  when  I 
wanted  to  bake,  I  made  a  great  fire  upon  my  hearth,  which  I 
had  paved  with  some  square  tiles,  of  my  own  making  and 
burning  also ;  but  I  should  not  call  them  square. 

When  the  firewood  was  burned  pretty  much  into  embers, 
or  live  coals,  I  drew  them  forward  upon  this  hearth,  so  as  to 
cover  it  all  over,  and  there  I  let  them  lie  till  the  hearth  was 
very  hot;  then  sweeping  away  all  the  embers,  I  set  down  my 
loaf,  or  loaves,  and  whelming  down  the  earthen  pot  upon 
them,  drew  the  embers  all  round  the  outside  of  the  pot,  to 
keep  in  and  add  to  the  heat.  And  thus,  as  well  as  in  the  best 
oven  in  the  world,  I  baked  my  barley-loaves,  and  became,  in 
little  time,  a  mere  pastry-cook  into  the  bargain;  for  I  made 
myself  several  cakes  of  the  rice,  and  puddings ;  indeed  I  made 

[162] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

no  pies,  neither  had  I  anything  to  put  into  them,  supposing  I 
had,  except  flesh  either  of  fowls  or  goats. 

It  need  not  be  wondered  at,  if  all  these  things  took  me  up 
most  part  of  the  third  year  of  my  abode  here;  for  it  is  to  be 
observed,  that  in  the  intervals  of  these  things  I  had  my  new 
harvest  and  husbandry  to  manage ;  for  I  reaped  my  corn  in  its 
season,  and  carried  it  home  as  well  as  I  could,  and  laid  it  up 
in  the  ear,  in  my  large  baskets,  till  I  had  time  to  rub  it  out,  for 
I  had  no  floor  to  thrash  it  on,  or  instrument  to  thrash  it  with. 

And  now,  indeed,  my  stock  of  corn  increasing,  I  really 
wanted  to  build  my  barns  bigger.  I  wanted  a  place  to  lay  it 
up  in,  for  the  increase  of  the  corn  now  yielded  me  so  much, 
that  I  had  of  the  barley  about  twenty  bushels,  and  of  the  rice 
as  much,  or  more,  insomuch  that  now  I  resolved  to  begin  to 
use  it  freely ;  for  my  bread  had  been  quite  gone  a  great  while ; 
also,  I  resolved  to  see  what  quantity  would  be  sufficient  for  me 
a  whole  year,  and  to  sow  but  once  a  year. 

Upon  the  whole,  I  found  that  the  forty  bushels  of  barley 
and  rice  was  much  more  than  I  could  consume  in  a  year;  so  I 
resolved  to  sow  just  the  same  quantity  every  year  that  I  sowed 
the  last,  in  hopes  that  such  a  quantity  would  fully  provide  me 
with  bread,  etc. 


[1631 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Meditates  His  Escape  from  the  Island — Builds  a  Canoe — Failure  of 

His  Scheme  and  Resignation  to  His  Condition — 

He  Makes  Himself  a  New  Dress 

ALL  the  while  these  things  were  doing,  you  may  be  sure 
my  thoughts  ran  many  times  upon  the  prospect  of 
land  which  I  had  seen  from  the  other  side  of  the 
island,  and  I  was  not  without  secret  wishes  that  I  were  on 
shore  there,  fancying  the  seeing  the  mainland,  and  in  an  inhab- 
ited country,  I  might  find  some  way  or  other  to  convey  myself 
farther,  and  perhaps  at  last  find  some  means  of  escape. 

But  all  this  while  I  made  no  allowance  for  the  dangers  of 
such  a  condition,  and  how  I  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  sav- 
ages, and  perhaps  such  as  I  might  have  reason  to  think  far 
worse  than  the  lions  and  tigers  of  Africa;  that  if  I  once  came 
into  their  power,  I  should  run  a  hazard  more  than  a  thousand 
to  one  of  being  killed,  and  perhaps  of  being  eaten;  for  I  had 
heard  that  the  people  of  the  Caribbean  coasts  were  cannibals, 
or  man-eaters,  and  I  knew  by  the  latitude  that  I  could  not  be 
far  off  from  that  shore.  Suppose  they  were  not  cannibals,  yet 
that  they  might  kill  me,  as  many  Europeans  who  had  fallen 
into  their  hands  had  been  served,  even  when  they  had  been 
ten  or  twenty  together,  much  more  I,  that  was  but  one,  and 
could  make  little  or  no  defence;  all  these  things,  I  say,  which 

[164] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  ought  to  have  considered  well  of,  and  did  cast  up  in  my 
thoughts  afterwards,  yet  took  up  none  of  my  apprehensions 
at  first,  but  my  head  ran  mightily  upon  the  thought  of  getting 
over  to  the  shore. 

Now  I  wished  for  my  boy  Xury,  and  the  long-boat  with 
the  shoulder-of -mutton  sail,  with  which  I  sailed  above  a  thou- 
sand miles  on  the  coast  of  Africa ;  but  this  was  in  vain.  Then 
I  thought  I  would  go  and  look  at  our  ship's  boat,  which,  as  I 
have  said,  was  blown  up  upon  the  shore  a  great  way,  in  the 
storm,  when  we  were  first  cast  away.  She  lay  almost  where  she 
did  at  first,  but  not  quite ;  and  was  turned,  by  the  force  of  the 
waves  and  the  winds,  almost  bottom  upward,  against  a  high 
ridge  of  beachy  rough  sand,  but  no  water  about  her,  as  before. 

If  I  had  had  hands  to  have  refitted  her,  and  to  have 
launched  her  into  the  water,  the  boat  would  have  done  well 
enough,  and  I  might  have  gone  back  into  the  Brazils  with  her 
easily  enough ;  but  I  might  have  foreseen  that  I  could  no  more 
turn  her  and  set  her  upright  upon  her  bottom,  than  I  could 
remove  the  island.  However,  I  went  to  the  woods,  and  cut 
levers  and  rollers,  and  brought  them  to  the  boat,  resolved  to 
try  what  I  could  do;  suggesting  to  myself  that  if  I  could  but 
turn  her  down,  I  might  easily  repair  the  damage  she  had  re- 
ceived, and  she  would  be  a  very  good  boat,  and  I  might  go  to 
sea  in  her  very  easily. 

I  spared  no  pains,  indeed,  in  this  piece  of  fruitless  toil,  and 
spent,  I  think,  three  or  four  weeks  about  it.  At  last  finding  it 
impossible  to  heave  it  up  with  my  little  strength,  I  fell  to  dig- 
ging away  the  sand,  to  undermine  it,  and  so  to  make  it  fall 

[165] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

down,  setting  pieces  of  wood  to  thrust  and  guide  it  right  in  the 
fall.  But  when  I  had  done  this,  I  was  unable  to  stir  it  up 
again,  or  to  get  under  it,  much  less  to  move  it  forward  towards 
the  water ;  so  I  was  forced  to  give  it  over.  And  yet,  though  I 
gave  over  the  hopes  of  the  boat,  my  desire  to  venture  over  for 
the  main  increased,  rather  than  decreased,  as  the  means  for  it 
seemed  impossible. 

This  at  length  put  me  upon  thinking  whether  it  was  not 
possible  to  make  myself  a  canoe,  or  periagua,  such  as  the  na- 
tives of  those  climates  make,  even  without  tools,  or,  as  I  might 
say,  without  hands,  viz.,  of  the  trunk  of  a  great  tree.  This  I 
not  only  thought  possible,  but  easy,  and  pleased  myself  ex- 
tremely with  the  thoughts  of  making  it,  and  with  my  having 
much  more  convenience  for  it  than  any  of  the  negroes  or  In- 
dians ;  but  not  at  all  considering  the  particular  inconveniences 
which  I  lay  under  more  than  the  Indians  did,  viz.,  want  of 
hands  to  move  it,  when  it  was  made,  into  the  water,  a  difficulty 
much  harder  for  me  to  surmount  than  all  the  consequences  of 
want  of  tools  could  be  to  them.  For  what  was  it  to  me,  that 
when  I  had  chosen  a  vast  tree  in  the  woods,  I  might  with  much 
trouble  cut  it  down,  if,  after  I  might  be  able  with  my  tools  to 
hew  and  dub  the  outside  into  the  proper  shape  of  a  boat,  and 
burn  or  cut  out  the  inside  to  make  it  hollow,  so  to  make  a  boat 
of  it;  if,  after  all  this,  I  must  leave  it  just  there  where  I  found 
it,  and  was  not  able  to  launch  it  into  the  water? 

One  would  have  thought  I  could  not  have  had  the  least 
reflection  upon  my  mind  of  my  circumstance  while  I  was 
making  this  boat,  but  I  should  have  immediately  thought  how  I 

[1661 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

should  get  it  into  the  sea;  but  my  thoughts  were  so  intent 
upon  my  voyage  over  the  sea  in  it,  that  I  never  once  considered 
how  I  should  get  it  off  of  the  land;  and  it  was  really,  in  its  own 
nature,  more  easy  for  me  to  guide  it  over  forty-five  miles  of  sea, 
than  about  forty-five  fathoms  of  land,  where  it  lay,  to  set  it 
afloat  in  the  water. 

I  went  to  work  upon  this  boat  the  most  like  a  fool  that  ever 
man  did  who  had  any  of  his  senses  awake.  I  pleased  myself 
with  the  design,  without  determining  whether  I  was  ever  able 
to  undertake  it.  Not  but  that  the  difficulty  of  launching  my 
boat  came  often  into  my  head;  but  I  put  a  stop  to  my  own 
inquiries  into  it,  by  this  foolish  answer  which  I  gave  myself, 
"Let's  first  make  it!  I'll  warrant  I'll  find  some  way  or  other 
to  get  it  along  when  'tis  done." 

This  was  a  most  preposterous  method ;  but  the  eagerness  of 
my  fancy  prevailed,  and  to  work  I  went.  I  felled  a  cedar  tree : 
I  question  much  whether  Solomon  ever  had  such  a  one  for  the 
building  of  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem.  It  was  five  feet  ten 
inches  diameter  at  the  lower  part  next  the  stump,  and  four  feet 
eleven  inches  diameter  at  the  end  of  twenty-two  feet,  after 
which  it  lessened  for  awhile,  and  then  parted  into  branches.  It 
was  not  without  infinite  labor  that  I  felled  this  tree.  I  was 
twenty  days  hacking  and  hewing  at  it  at  the  bottom;  I  was 
fourteen  more  getting  the  branches  and  limbs,  and  the  vast 
spreading  head  of  it  cut  off,  which  I  hacked  and  hewed  through 
with  axe  and  hatchet,  and  inexpressible  labor.  After  this,  it 
cost  me  a  month  to  shape  it  and  dub  it  to  a  proportion,  and  to 
something  like  the  bottom  of  a  boat,  that  it  might  swim  upright 

[167] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

as  it  ought  to  do.  It  cost  me  near  three  months  more  to  clear 
the  inside,  and  work  it  so  as  to  make  an  exact  boat  of  it.  This 
I  did,  indeed,  without  fire,  by  mere  mallet  and  chisel,  and  by 
the  dint  of  hard  labor,  till  I  had  brought  it  to  be  a  very  hand- 
some periagua  and  big  enough  to  have  carried  six  and  twenty 
men,  and  consequently  big  enough  to  have  carried  me  and  all 
my  cargo. 

When  I  had  gone  through  this  work,  I  was  extremely  de- 
lighted with  it.  The  boat  was  really  much  bigger  than  I  ever 
saw  a  canoe  or  periagua ,  that  was  made  of  one  tree,  in  my  life. 
Many  a  weary  stroke  it  had  cost,  you  may  be  sure;  and  there 
remained  nothing  but  to  get  it  into  the  water ;  and  had  I  gotten 
it  into  the  water,  I  made  no  question  but  I  should  have  begun 
the  maddest  voyage,  and  the  most  unlikely  to  be  performed, 
that  ever  was  undertaken. 

But  all  my  devices  to  get  it  into  the  water  failed  me,  though 
thejr  cost  me  infinite  labor  too.  It  lay  about  one  hundred  yards 
from  the  water,  and  not  more ;  but  the  first  inconvenience  was, 
it  was  uphill  towards  the  creek.  Well,  to  take  away  this  dis- 
couragement, I  resolved  to  dig  into  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
and  so  make  a  declivity.  This  I  began,  and  it  cost  me  a  pro- 
digious deal  of  pains;  but  who  grudges  pains,  that  have  their 
deliverance  in  view?  But  when  this  was  worked  through,  and 
this  difficulty  managed,  it  was  still  much  at  one,  for  I  could  no 
more  stir  the  canoe  than  I  could  the  other  boat. 

Then  I  measured  the  distance  of  ground,  and  resolved  to 
cut  a  dock  or  canal,  to  bring  the  water  up  to  the  canoe,  seeing 
I  could  not  bring  the  canoe  down  to  the  water.     Well,  I  began 

[168] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

this  work ;  and  when  I  began  to  enter  into  it,  and  calculate  how 
deep  it  was  to  be  dug,  how  broad,  how  the  stuff  to  be  thrown 
out,  I  found  that  by  the  number  of  hands  I  had,  being  none  but 
my  own,  it  must  have  been  ten  or  twelve  years  before  I  should 
have  gone  through  with  it;  for  the  shore  lay  high,  so  that  at 
the  upper  end  it  must  have  been  at  least  twenty  feet  deep ;  so 
at  length,  though  with  great  reluctancy,  I  gave  this  attempt 
over  also. 

This  grieved  me  heartily;  and  now  I  saw,  though  too  late, 
the  folly  of  beginning  a  work  before  we  count  the  cost,  and 
before  we  judge  rightly  of  our  own  strength  to  go  through 
with  it. 

In  the  middle  of  this  work  I  finished  my  fourth  year  in  this 
place,  and  kept  my  anniversary  with  the  same  devotion,  and 
with  as  much  comfort  as  ever  before;  for,  by  a  constant  study 
and  serious  application  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  by  the  assist- 
ance of  His  grace,  I  gained  a  different  knowledge  from  what 
I  had  before.  I  entertained  different  notions  of  things.  I 
looked  now  upon  the  world  as  a  thing  remote,  which  I  had  noth- 
ing to  do  with,  no  expectation  from,  and,  indeed,  no  desires 
about.  In  a  word,  I  had  nothing  indeed  to  do  with  it,  nor  was 
ever  like  to  have;  so  I  thought  it  looked,  as  we  may  perhaps 
look  upon  it  hereafter,  viz.,  as  a  place  I  had  lived  in,  but  was 
come  out  of  it;  and  well  might  I  say,  as  father  Abraham  to 
Dives,  "Between  me  and  thee  is  a  great  gulf  fixed." 

In  the  first  place,  I  was  removed  from  all  the  wickedness 
of  the  world  here.  I  had  neither  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust 
of  the  eye,  or  the  pride  of  life.     I  had  nothing  to  covet,  for  I 

.       [169] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

had  all  that  I  was  now  capable  of  enjoying.  I  was  lord  of  the 
whole  manor ;  or,  if  I  pleased,  I  might  call  myself  king  or  em- 
peror over  the  whole  country  which  I  had  possession  of.  There 
were  no  rivals :  I  had  no  competitor,  none  to  dispute  sovereignty 
or  command  with  me.  I  might  have  raised  ship-loadings  of 
corn,  but  I  had  no  use  for  it ;  so  I  let  as  little  grow  as  I  thought 
enough  for  my  occasion.  I  had  tortoise  or  turtles  enough,  but 
now  and  then  one  was  as  much  as  I  could  put  to  any  use.  I 
had  timber  enough  to  have  built  a  fleet  of  ships.  I  had  grapes 
enough  to  have  made  wine,  or  to  have  cured  into  raisins,  to 
have  loaded  that  fleet  when  they  had  been  built. 

But  all  I  could  make  use  of  was  all  that  was  valuable.  I 
had  enough  to  eat  and  to  supply  my  wants,  and  what  was  all 
the  rest  to  me?  If  I  killed  more  flesh  than  I  could  eat,  the 
dog  must  eat  it,  or  the  vermin.  If  I  sowed  more  corn  than  I 
could  eat,  it  must  be  spoiled.  The  trees  that  I  cut  down  were 
lying  to  rot  on  the  ground ;  I  could  make  no  more  use  of  them 
than  for  fuel,  and  that  I  had  no  occasion  for  but  to  dress  my 
food. 

In  a  word,  the  nature  and  experience  of  things  dictated  to 
me,  upon  just  reflection,  that  all  the  good  things  of  this  world 
are  no  farther  good  to  us  than  the}'  are  for  our  use;  and  that 
whatever  we  may  heap  up  indeed  to  give  others,  we  enjoy  just 
as  much  as  we  can  use,  and  no  more.  The  most  covetous, 
gripping  miser  in  the  world  would  have  been  cured  of  the  vice 
of  covetousness,  if  he  had  been  in  my  case ;  for  I  possessed  infi- 
nitely more  than  I  knew  what  to  do  with.  I  had  no  room  for 
desire,  except  it  was  of  things  which  I  had  not,  and  they  were 

[170] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

but  trifles,  though  indeed  of  great  use  to  me.  I  had,  as  I 
hinted  before,  a  parcel  of  money,  as  well  gold  as  silver,  about 
thirty-six  pounds  sterling.  Alas!  there  the  nasty,  sorry,  use- 
less stuff  lay ;  I  had  no  manner  of  business  for  it ;  and  I  often 
thought  with  myself,  that  I  would  have  given  a  handful  of  it 
for  a  gross  of  tobacco-pipes,  or  for  a  hand-mill  to  grind  my 
corn ;  nay,  I  would  have  given  it  all  for  six-pennyworth  of  tur- 
nip and  carrot  seed  out  of  England,  or  for  a  handful  of  peas 
and  beans,  and  a  bottle  of  ink.  As  it  was,  I  had  not  the  least 
advantage  by  it,  or  benefit  from  it ;  but  there  it  lay  in  a  drawer, 
and  grew  moldy  with  the  damp  of  the  cave  in  the  wet  season; 
and  if  I  had  had  the  drawer  full  of  diamonds,  it  had  been  the 
same  case,  and  they  had  been  of  no  manner  of  value  to  me 
because  of  no  use. 

I  had  now  brought  my  state  of  life  to  be  much  easier  in 
itself  than  it  was  at  first,  and  much  easier  to  nry  mind,  as  well 
as  to  my  body.  I  frequently  sat  down  to  my  meat  with  thank- 
fulness, and  admired  the  hand  of  God's  providence,  which  had 
thus  spread  my  table  in  the  wilderness.  I  learned  to  look  more 
upon  the  bright  side  of  my  condition,  and  less  upon  the  dark 
side,  and  to  consider  what  I  enjoyed,  rather  than  what  I 
wanted;  and  this  gave  me  sometimes  such  secret  comforts,  that 
I  cannot  express  them ;  and  which  I  take  notice  of  here,  to  put 
those  discontented  people  in  mind  of  it,  who  cannot  enjoy 
comfortably  what  God  has  given  them,  because  they  see  and 
covet  something  that  He  has  not  given  them.  All  our  discon- 
tents about  what  we  want,  appeared  to  me  to  spring  from  the 
want  of  thankfulness  for  what  we  have. 

[171] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

Another  reflection  was  of  great  use  to  me,  and  doubtless 
would  be  so  to  any  one  that  should  fall  into  such  distress  as 
mine  was ;  and  this  was,  to  compare  my  present  condition  with 
what  I  at  first  expected  it  should  be ;  nay,  with  what  it  would 
certainly  have  been,  if  the  good  providence  of  God  had  not 
wonderfully  ordered  the  ship  to  be  cast  up  nearer  to  the  shore, 
where  I  not  only  could  come  at  her,  but  could  bring  what  I  got 
out  of  her  to  the  shore,  for  my  relief  and  comfort;  without 
which  I  had  wanted  for  tools  to  work,  weapons  for  defence,  or 
gun-powder  and  shot  for  getting  my  food. 

I  spent  whole  hours,  I  may  say  whole  days,  in  representing 
to  myself,  in  the  most  lively  colors,  how  I  must  have  acted  if  I 
had  got  nothing  out  of  the  ship.  How  I  could  not  have  so 
much  as  got  any  food,  except  fish  and  turtles;  and  that  as  it 
was  long  before  I  found  any  of  them,  I  must  have  perished 
first ;  that  I  should  have  lived,  if  I  had  not  perished,  like  a  mere 
savage ;  that  if  I  had  killed  a  goat  or  a  fowl,  by  any  contrivance, 
I  had  no  way  to  flay  or  open  them,  or  part  the  flesh  from  the 
skin  and  the  bowels,  or  to  cut  it  up ;  but  must  gnaw  it  with  my 
teeth,  and  pull  it  with  my  claws,  like  a  beast. 

These  reflections  made  me  very  sensible  of  the  goodness  of 
Providence  to  me,  and  very  thankful  for  my  present  condition, 
with  all  its  hardships  and  misfortunes;  and  this  part  also  I 
cannot  but  recommend  to  the  reflection  of  those  who  are  apt, 
in  their  misery,  to  say,  Is  any  affliction  like  mine?  Let  them 
consider  how  much  worse  the  cases  of  some  people  are,  and 
their  case  might  have  been,  if  Providence  had  thought  fit. 

I  had  another  reflection,  which  assisted  me  also  to  comfort 

[172] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

my  mind  with  hopes ;  and  this  was,  comparing  my  present  con- 
dition with  what  I  had  deserved,  and  had  therefore  reason  to 
expect  from  the  hand  of  Providence.  I  had  lived  a  dreadful 
life,  perfectly  destitute  of  the  knowledge  and  fear  of  God.  I 
had  been  well  instructed  by  father  and  mother ;  neither  had  they 
been  wanting  to  me  in  their  early  endeavors  to  infuse  a  religious 
awe  of  God  into  my  mind,  a  sense  of  my  duty,  and  of  what  the 
nature  and  end  of  my  being  required  of  me.  But  alas !  falling 
early  into  the  seafaring  life,  which,  of  all  the  lives,  is  the  most 
destitute  of  the  fear  of  God,  though  His  terrors  are  always 
before  them;  I  say,  falling  early  into  the  seafaring  life,  and 
into  seafaring  company,  all  that  little  sense  of  religion  which  I 
had  entertained  was  laughed  out  of  me  by  my  messmates;  by 
a  hardened  despising  of  dangers,  and  the  views  of  death,  which 
grew  habitual  to  me;  by  my  long  absence  from  all  manner  of 
opportunities  to  converse  with  anything  but  what  was  like  my- 
self, or  to  hear  anything  that  was  good,  or  tended  towards  it. 
So  void  was  I  of  everything  that  was  good,  or  of  the  least 
sense  of  what  I  was,  or  was  to  be,  that  in  the  greatest  deliver- 
ances I  enjoyed,  such  as  my  escape  from  Sallee;  my  being 
taken  up  by  the  Portuguese  master  of  the  ship;  my  being 
planted  so  well  in  the  Brazils;  my  receiving  the  cargo  from 
England,  and  the  like;  I  never  had  once  the  words,  "Thank 
God,"  as  much  as  on  my  mind,  or  in  my  mouth;  nor  in  the 
greatest  distress  had  I  so  much  as  a  thought  to  pray  to  Him, 
or  so  much  as  to  say,  "Lord,  have  mercy  upon  me!"  no,  nor  to 
mention  the  name  of  God,  unless  it  was  to  swear  by  and  blas- 
pheme it. 

[173] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  had  terrible  reflections  upon  my  mind  for  many  months, 
as  I  have  already  observed,  on  the  account  of  my  wicked  and 
hardened  life  past;  and  when  I  looked  about  me,  and  consid- 
ered what  particular  providences  had  attended  me  since  my 
coming  into  this  place,  and  how  God  had  dealt  bountifully  with 
me,  had  not  only  punished  me  less  than  my  iniquity  had  de- 
served, but  had  so  plentifully  provided  for  me;  this  gave  me 
great  hopes  that  my  repentance  was  accepted,  and  that  God 
had  yet  mercy  in  store  for  me. 

With  these  reflections,  I  worked  my  mind  up,  not  only  to 
resignation  to  the  will  of  God  in  the  present  disposition  of  my 
circumstances,  but  even  to  a  sincere  thankfulness  for  my  condi- 
tion; and  that  I,  who  was  yet  a  living  man,  ought  not  to  com- 
plain, seeing  I  had  not  the  due  punishment  of  my  sins ;  that  I 
enjoyed  so  many  mercies,  which  I  had  no  reason  to  have  ex- 
pected in  that  place ;  that  I  ought  never  more  to  repine  at  my 
condition,  but  to  rejoice,  and  to  give  daily  thanks  for  that  daily 
bread,  which  nothing  but  a  crowd  of  wonders  could  have 
brought;  that  I  ought  to  consider  I  had  been  fed  even  by 
miracle,  even  as  great  as  that  of  feeding  Elijah  by  ravens;  nay, 
by  a  long  series  of  miracles;  and  that  I  could  hardly  have 
named  a  place  in  the  unhabitable  part  of  the  world  where  I 
could  have  been  cast  more  to  my  advantage ;  a  place  where,  as 
I  had  no  society,  which  was  my  affliction  on  one  hand,  so  I 
found  no  ravenous  beasts,  no  furious  wolves  or  tigers,  to 
threaten  my  life ;  no  venomous  creatures  or  poisonous,  which  I 
might  feed  on  to  my  hurt;  no  savages  to  murder  and  devour  me. 

In  a  word,  as  my  life  was  a  life  of  sorrow  one  way,  so  it 

[174] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

was  a  life  of  mercy  another ;  and  I  wanted  nothing  to  make  it 
a  life  of  comfort,  but  to  be  able  to  make  my  sense  of  God's 
goodness  to  me,  and  care  over  me  in  this  condition,  be  my  daily 
consolation;  and  after  I  did  make  a  just  improvement  of  these 
things,  I  went  away,  and  was  no  more  sad. 

I  had  now  been  here  so  long,  that  many  things  which  I 
brought  on  shore  for  my  help  were  either  quite  gone,  or  very 
much  wasted,  and  near  spent.  My  ink,  as  I  observed,  had  been 
gone  for  some  time,  all  but  a  very  little,  which  I  eked  out  with 
water,  a  little  and  a  little,  till  it  was  so  pale  it  scarce  left  any 
appearance  of  black  upon  the  paper.  As  long  as  it  lasted,  I 
made  use  of  it  to  minute  down  the  days  of  the  month  on  which 
any  remarkable  thing  happened  to  me.  And,  first,  by  casting 
up  times  past,  I  remember  that  there  was  a  strange  concur- 
rence of  days  in  the  various  providences  which  befell  me,  and 
which,  if  I  had  been  superstitiously  inclined  to  observe  days  as 
fatal  or  fortunate,  I  might  have  had  reason  to  have  looked  upon 
with  a  great  deal  of  curiosity. 

First,  I  had  observed  that  the  same  day  that  I  broke  away 
from  my  father  and  my  friends,  and  run  away  to  Hull,  in  order 
to  go  to  sea,  the  same  day  afterwards  I  was  taken  by  the  Sallee 
man-of-war,  and  made  a  slave. 

The  same  day  of  the  year  that  I  escaped  out  of  the  wreck 
of  that  ship  in  Yarmouth  Roads,  that  same  day-year  after- 
wards I  made  my  escape  from  Sallee  in  the  boat. 

The  same  day  of  the  year  I  was  born  on,  viz.,  the  30th  of 
September,  that  same  day  I  had  my  life  so  miraculously  saved 
twenty-six  years  after,  when  I  was  cast  on  shore  in  this  island; 

[175] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

so  that  my  wicked  life  and  my  solitary  life  began  both  on  a 
day. 

The  next  thing  to  my  ink's  being  wasted,  was  that  of  my 
bread;  I  mean  the  biscuit,  which  I  brought  out  of  the  ship. 
This  I  had  husbanded  to  the  last  degree,  allowing  myself  but 
one  cake  of  bread  a  day  for  above  a  year ;  and  yet  I  was  quite 
without  bread  for  near  a  year  before  I  got  any  corn  of  my 
own ;  and  great  reason  I  had  to  be  thankful  that  I  had  any  at 
all,  the  getting  it  being,  as  has  been  already  observed,  next  to 
miraculous. 

My  clothes  began  to  decay,  too,  mightily.  As  to  linen,  I 
had  none  a  good  while,  except  some  checkered  shirts  which  I 
found  in  the  chests  of  the  other  seamen,  and  which  I  carefully 
preserved,  because  many  times  I  could  bear  no  other  clothes  on 
but  a  shirt;  and  it  was  a  very  great  help  to  me  that  I  had, 
among  all  the  men's  clothes  of  the  ship,  almost  three  dozen  of 
shirts.  There  were  also  several  thick  watch-coats  of  the  sea- 
men's which  were  left  indeed,  but  they  were  too  hot  to  wear; 
and  though  it  is  true  that  the  weather  was  so  violent  hot  that 
there  was  no  need  of  clothes,  yet  I  could  not  go  quite  naked, 
no,  though  I  had  been  inclined  to  it,  which  I  was  not,  nor  could 
abide  the  thoughts  of  it,  though  I  was  all  alone. 

The  reason  why  I  could  not  go  quite  naked  was,  I  could 
not  bear  the  heat  of  the  sun  so  well  when  quite  naked  as  with 
some  clothes  on;  nay,  the  very  heat  frequently  blistered  my 
skin;  whereas,  with  a  shirt  on,  the  air  itself  made  some  motion, 
and  whistling  under  that  shirt,  was  twofold  cooler  than  without 
it.     No  more  could  I  ever  bring  myself  to  go  out  in  the  heat  of 

[176] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

the  sun  without  a  cap  or  hat.  The  heat  of  the  sun  beating  with 
such  violence,  as  it  does  in  that  place,  would  give  me  the  head- 
ache presently,  by  darting  so  directly  on  my  head,  without  a 
cap  or  hat  on,  so  that  I  could  not  bear  it ;  whereas,  if  I  put  on 
my  hat,  it  would  presently  go  away. 

Upon  those  views,  I  began  to  consider  about  putting  the 
few  rags  I  had,  which  I  called  clothes,  into  some  order.  I  had 
worn  out  all  the  waistcoats  I  had,  and  my  business  was  now  to 
try  if  I  could  not  make  jackets  out  of  the  great  watch-coats 
which  I  had  by  me,  and  with  such  other  materials  as  I  had ;  so  I 
set  to  work  a-tailoring,  or  rather,  indeed,  a-botching,  for  I  made 
most  piteous  work  of  it.  However,  I  made  shift  to  make  me 
two  or  three  new  waistcoats,  which  I  hoped  would  serve  me  a 
great  while.  As  for  breeches  or  drawers,  I  made  but  a  very 
sorry  shift  indeed  till  afterward. 

I  have  mentioned  that  I  saved  the  skins  of  all  the  creatures 
that  I  killed,  I  mean  four-footed  ones,  and  I  had  hung  them 
up  stretched  out  with  sticks  in  the  sun,  by  which  means  some 
of  them  were  so  dry  and  hard  that  they  were  fit  for  little,  but 
others  it  seems  were  very  useful.  The  first  thing  I  made  of 
these  was  a  great  cap  for  my  head,  with  the  hair  on  the  outside, 
to  shoot  off  the  rain;  and  this  I  performed  so  well,  that  after 
this  I  made  me  a  suit  of  clothes  wholly  of  these  skins,  that  is  to 
say,  a  waistcoat,  and  breeches  open  at  knees,  and  both  loose, 
for  they  were  rather  wanting  to  keep  me  cool  than  to  keep  me 
warm.  I  must  not  omit  to  acknowledge  that  they  were  wretch- 
edly made;  for  if  I  was  a  bad  carpenter,  I  was  a  worse  tailor. 
However,  they  were  such  as  I  made  very  good  shift  with;  and 

[177] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

when  I  was  abroad,  if  it  happened  to  rain,  the  hair  of  my  waist- 
coat and  cap  being  outermost,  I  was  kept  very  dry. 

After  this  I  spent  a  great  deal  of  time  and  pains  to  make 
me  an  umbrella.  I  was  indeed  in  great  want  of  one,  and  had  a 
great  mind  to  make  one.  I  had  seen  them  made  in  the  Brazils, 
where  they  are  very  useful  in  the  great  heats  which  are  there ; 
and  I  felt  the  heats  every  jot  as  great  here,  and  greater  too, 
being  nearer  the  equinox.  Besides,  as  I  was  obliged  to  be 
much  abroad,  it  was  a  most  useful  thing  to  me,  as  well  for  the 
rains  as  the  heats.  I  took  a  world  of  pains  at  it,  and  was  a 
great  while  before  I  could  make  anything  likely  to  hold ;  nay, 
after  I  thought  I  had  hit  the  way,  I  spoiled  two  or  three  before 
I  made  one  to  my  mind ;  but  at  last  I  made  one  that  answered 
indifferently  well.  The  main  difficulty  I  found  was  to  make  it 
to  let  down.  I  could  make  it  to  spread;  but  if  it  did  not  let 
down  too,  and  draw  in,  it  was  not  portable  for  me  any  way  but 
just  over  my  head,  which  would  not  do.  However,  at  last,  as 
I  said,  I  made  one  to  answer,  and  covered  it  with  skins,  the 
hair  upwards,  so  that  it  cast  off  the  rains  like  a  pent-house,  and 
kept  off  the  sun  so  effectually,  that  I  would  walk  out  in  the 
hottest  of  the  weather  with  greater  advantage  than  I  could 
before  in  the  coolest ;  and  when  I  had  no  need  of  it,  could  close 
it,  and  carry  it  under  my  arm. 

Thus  I  lived  mighty  comfortably,  my  mind  being  entirely 
composed  by  resigning  to  the  will  of  God,  and  throwing  myself 
wholly  upon  the  disposal  of  His  providence.  This  made  my 
life  better  than  sociable ;  for  when  I  began  to  regret  the  want  of 
conversation,  I  would  ask  myself  whether  thus  conversing  mu- 

[178] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

tually  with  my  own  thoughts  and,  as  I  hope  I  may  say,  with 
even  God  Himself,  by  ejaculations,  was  not  better  than  the 
utmost  enjoyment  of  human  society  in  the  world? 


[1791 


CHAPTER  XV 

He  Makes  a  Smaller  Canoe  in  which  He  Attempts  to  Cruise  Round  the 
Island — His  Perilous  Situation  at  Sea — He  Returns  Home 

I  CAN  NOT  say  that  after  this,  for  five  years,  any  extraor- 
dinary thing  happened  to  me ;  but  I  lived  on  in  the  same 
course,  in  the  same  posture  and  place,  just  as  before. 
The  chief  things  I  was  employed  in,  besides  my  yearly  labor 
of  planting  my  barley  and  rice,  and  curing  my  raisins,  of  both 
which  I  always  kept  up  just  enough  to  have  sufficient  stock  of 
one  year's  provisions  beforehand — and  my  daily  labor  of  going 
out  with  my  gun,  I  had  one  labor,  to  make  me  a  canoe,  which 
at  last  I  finished;  so  that  by  digging  a  canal  to  it  of  six  feet 
wide,  and  four  feet  deep,  I  brought  it  into  the  creek,  almost 
half  a  mile.  As  for  the  first,  which  was  so  vastly  big,  as  I  made 
it  without  considering  beforehand,  as  I  ought  to  do,  how  I 
should  be  able  to  launch  it;  so,  never  being  able  to  bring  it  to 
the  water,  or  bring  the  water  to  it,  I  was  obliged  to  let  it  lie 
where  it  was,  as  a  memorandum  to  teach  me  to  be  wiser  next 
time.  Indeed,  the  next  time,  though  I  could  not  get  a  tree 
proper  for  it,  and  in  a  place  where  I  could  not  get  the  water  to 
it  at  any  less  distance  than,  as  I  have  said,  near  half  a  mile,  yet 
as  I  saw  it  was  practicable  at  last,  I  never  gave  it  over;  and 
though  I  was  near  two  years  about  it,  yet  I  never  grudged  my 
labor,  in  hopes  of  having  a  boat  to  go  off  to  sea  at  last. 

[180] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

However,  though  my  little  periagua  was  finished,  yet  the 
size  of  it  was  not  at  all  answerable  to  the  design  which  I  had  in 
view  when  I  made  the  first;  I  mean,  of  venturing  over  to  the 
terra  firma,  where  it  was  above  forty  miles  broad.  Accord- 
ingly, the  smallness  of  my  boat  assisted  to  put  an  end  to  that 
design,  and  now  I  thought  no  more  of  it.  But  as  I  had  a  boat, 
my  next  design  was  to  make  a  tour  round  the  island;  for  as  I 
had  been  on  the  other  side  in  one  place,  crossing,  as  I  have 
already  described  it,  over  the  land,  so  the  discoveries  I  made  in 
that  little  journey  made  me  very  eager  to  see  other  parts  of  the 
coast ;  and  now  I  had  a  boat,  I  thought  of  nothing  but  sailing 
round  the  island. 

For  this  purpose,  that  I  might  do  everything  with  discretion 
and  consideration,  I  fitted  up  a  little  mast  to  my  boat,  and  made 
a  sail  to  it  out  of  some  of  the  piece  of  the  ship's  sail,  which  lay 
in  store,  and  of  which  I  had  a  great  stock  by  me. 

Having  fitted  my  mast  and  sail,  and  tried  the  boat,  I  found 
she  would  sail  very  well.  Then  I  made  little  lockers,  or  boxes, 
at  either  end  of  my  boat,  to  put  provisions,  necessaries,  and 
ammunition,  etc.,  into,  to  be  kept  dry,  either  from  rain  or  the 
spray  of  the  sea;  and  a  little  long  hollow  place  I  cut  in  the 
inside  of  the  boat,  where  I  could  lay  my  gun,  making  a  flap  to 
hang  down  over  it  to  keep  it  dry. 

I  fixed  my  umbrella  also  in  a  step  at  the  stern,  like  a  mast, 
to  stand  over  my  head,  and  keep  the  heat  of  the  sun  off  of  me, 
like  an  awning;  and  thus  I  every  now  and  then  took  a  little 
voj^age  upon  the  sea,  but  never  went  far  out,  nor  far  from  the 
little  creek.     But  at  last,  being  eager  to  view  the  circumfer- 

[181] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

ence  of  my  little  kingdom,  I  resolved  upon  my  tour;  and  ac- 
cordingly I  victualled  my  ship  for  the  voyage,  putting  in  two 
dozen  of  my  loaves  (cakes  I  should  rather  call  them)  of  barley 
bread,  an  earthen  pot  full  of  parched  rice,  a  food  I  ate  a  great 
deal  of,  a  little  bottle  of  rum,  half  a  goat,  and  powder  and  shot 
for  killing  more,  and  two  large  watch-coats,  of  those  which,  as 
I  mentioned  before,  I  had  saved  out  of  the  seamen's  chests; 
these  I  took,  one  to  lie  upon,  and  the  other  to  cover  me  in  the 
night. 

It  was  the  6th  of  November,  in  the  sixth  year  of  my  reign, 
or  my  captivity,  which  you  please,  that  I  set  out  on  this  voyage, 
and  I  found  it  much  longer  than  I  expected;  for  though  the 
island  itself  was  not  very  large,  yet  when  I  came  to  the  east  side 
of  it  I  found  a  great  ledge  of  rocks  lie  out  about  two  leagues 
into  the  sea,  some  above  water,  some  under  it,  and  beyond  that 
a  shoal  of  sand,  lying  dry  half  a  league  more;  so  that  I  was 
obliged  to  go  a  great  way  out  to  sea  to  double  the  point. 

When  first  I  discovered  them,  I  was  going  to  give  over  my 
enterprise,  and  come  back  again,  not  knowing  how  far  it  might 
oblige  me  to  go  out  to  sea,  and,  above  all,  doubting  how  I 
should  get  back  again,  so  I  came  to  an  anchor ;  for  I  had  made 
me  a  kind  of  anchor  with  a  piece  of  a  broken  grappling  which 
I  got  out  of  the  ship. 

Having  secured  my  boat,  J  took  my  gun  and  went  on  shore, 
climbing  up  upon  a  hill,  which  seemed  to  overlook  that  point, 
where  I  saw  the  full  extent  of  it,  and  resolved  to  venture. 

In  my  viewing  the  sea  from  that  hill,  where  I  stood,  I  per- 
ceived a  strong,  and  indeed  a  most  furious  current,  which  ran 

[182] 


©   C.    B.    C. 


"  —  and  thus  I  every  now  and  then  took  a  little  voyage  upon  the  sea 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

to  the  east,  and  even  came  close  to  the  point;  and  I  took  the 
more  notice  of  it,  because  I  saw  there  might  be  some  danger 
that  when  I  came  into  it  I  might  be  carried  out  to  sea  by  the 
strength  of  it,  and  not  be  able  to  make  the  island  again.  And 
indeed,  had  I  not  gotten  first  up  upon  this  hill,  I  believe  it 
would  have  been  so ;  for  there  was  the  same  current  on  the  other 
side  of  the  island,  only  that  it  set  off  at  a  farther  distance ;  and 
I  saw  there  was  a  strong  eddy  under  the  shore ;  so  I  had  nothing 
to  do  but  to  get  in  out  of  the  first  current,  and  I  should  pres- 
ently be  in  an  eddy. 

I  lay  here,  however,  two  days;  because  the  wind,  blowing 
pretty  fresh  at  E.S.E.,  and  that  being  just  contrary  to  the  said 
current,  made  a  great  breach  of  the  sea  upon  the  point ;  so  that 
it  was  not  safe  for  me  to  keep  too  close  to  the  shore  for  the 
breach,  nor  to  go  too  far  off  because  of  the  stream. 

The  third  day,  in  the  morning,  the  wind  having  abated  over- 
night, the  sea  was  calm,  and  I  ventured.  But  I  am  a  warning- 
piece  again  to  all  rash  and  ignorant  pilots;  for  no  sooner  was 
I  come  to  the  point,  when  even  I  was  not  my  boat's  length  from 
the  shore,  but  I  found  myself  in  a  great  depth  of  water,  and  a 
current  like  the  sluice  of  a  mill.  It  carried  my  boat  along  with 
it  with  such  violence,  that  all  I  could  do  could  not  keep  her  so 
much  as  on  the  edge  of  it,  but  I  found  it  hurried  me  farther  and 
farther  out  from  the  eddy,  which  was  on  my  left  hand.  There 
was  no  wind  stirring  to  help  me,  and  all  I  could  do  with  my 
paddlers  signified  nothing.  And  now  I  began  to  give  myself 
over  for  lost ;  for,  as  the  current  was  on  both  sides  the  island,  I 
knew  in  a  few  leagues'  distance  they  must  join  again,  and  then 

[183] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  was  irrevocably  gone.  Nor  did  I  see  any  possibility  of  avoid- 
ing it ;  so  that  I  had  no  prospect  before  me  but  of  perishing ;  not 
by  the  sea,  for  that  was  calm  enough,  but  of  starving  for 
hunger.  I  had  indeed  found  a  tortoise  on  the  shore,  as  big  al- 
most as  I  could  lift,  and  had  tossed  it  into  the  boat ;  and  I  had  a 
great  jar  of  fresh  water,  that  is  to  say,  one  of  my  earthen  pots; 
but  what  was  all  this  to  being  driven  into  the  vast  ocean,  where, 
to  be  sure,  there  was  no  shore,  no  mainland  or  island,  for  a 
thousand  leagues  at  least. 

And  now  I  saw  how  easy  it  was  for  the  providence  of  God 
to  make  the  most  miserable  condition  mankind  could  be  in 
worse.  Now  I  looked  back  upon  my  desolate  solitary  island 
as  the  most  pleasant  place  in  the  world,  and  all  the  happiness 
my  heart  could  wish  for  was  to  be  but  there  again.  I  stretched 
out  my  hands  to  it,  with  eager  wishes.  "O  happy  desert!"  said 
I,  "I  shall  never  see  thee  more.  O  miserable  creature,"  said  I, 
"whither  am  I  going?"  Then  I  reproached  myself  with  my 
unthankful  temper,  and  how  I  had  repined  at  my  solitary  con- 
dition ;  and  now  what  would  I  give  to  be  on  shore  there  again. 
Thus  we  never  see  the  true  state  of  our  condition  till  it  is  illus- 
trated to  us  by  its  contraries;  nor  know  how  to  value  what  we 
enjoy,  but  by  the  want  of  it.  It  is  scarce  possible  to  imagine 
the  consternation  I  was  now  in,  being  driven  from  my  beloved 
island  (for  so  it  appeared  to  me  now  to  be)  into  the  wide  ocean, 
almost  two  leagues,  and  in  the  utmost  despair  of  ever  recover- 
ing it  again.  However,  I  worked  hard,  till  indeed  my  strength 
was  almost  exhausted,  and  kept  my  boat  as  much  to  the  north- 

[184] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

ward,  that  is,  towards  the  side  of  the  current  which  the  eddy 
lay  on,  as  possibly  I  could;  when  about  noon,  as  the  sun  passed 
the  meridian,  I  thought  I  felt  a  little  breeze  of  wind  in  my  face, 
springing  up  from  the  S.S.E.  This  cheered  my  heart  a  little, 
and  especially  when,  in  about  half  an  hour  more,  it  blew  a  pretty 
small  gentle  gale.  By  this  time  I  was  gotten  at  a  frightful 
distance  from  the  island;  and  had  the  least  cloud  or  hazy 
weather  intervened,  I  had  been  undone  another  way  too ;  for  I 
had  no  compass  on  board,  and  should  never  have  known  how  to 
have  steered  towards  the  island  if  I  had  but  once  lost  sight  of  it. 
But  the  weather  continuing  clear,  I  applied  myself  to  get  up 
my  mast  again,  and  spread  my  sail,  standing  away  to  the  north 
as  much  as  possible,  to  get  out  of  the  current. 

Just  as  I  had  set  my  mast  and  sail,  and  the  boat  began  to 
stretch  away,  I  saw  even  by  the  clearness  of  the  water  some 
alteration  of  the  current  was  near;  for  where  the  current  was 
so  strong,  the  water  was  foul.  But  perceiving  the  water  clear, 
I  found  the  current  abate,  and  presently  I  found  to  the  east, 
at  about  half  a  mile,  a  breach  of  the  sea  upon  some  rocks. 
These  rocks  I  found  caused  the  current  to  part  again;  and  as 
the  main  stress  of  it  ran  away  more  southerly,  leaving  the  rocks 
to  the  north-east,  so  the  other  returned  by  the  repulse  of  the 
rocks,  and  made  a  strong  eddy,  which  ran  back  again  to  the 
north-west  with  a  very  sharp  stream. 

They  who  know  what  it  is  to  have  a  reprieve  brought  to 
them  upon  the  ladder,  or  to  be  rescued  from  thieves  just  going 
to  murder  them,  or  who  have  been  in  such  like  extremities,  may 

[185] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

guess  what  my  present  surprise  of  joy  was,  and  how  gladly  I 
put  my  boat  into  the  stream  of  this  eddy;  and  the  wind  also 
freshening,  how  gladly  I  spread  my  sail  to  it,  running  cheer- 
fully before  the  wind,  and  with  a  strong  tide  or  eddy  under 
foot. 

This  eddy  carried  me  about  a  league  in  my  way  back  again, 
directly  towards  the  island,  but  about  two  leagues  more  to  the 
northward  than  the  current  which  carried  me,  awajr  at  first ;  so 
that  when  I  came  near  the  island,  I  found  myself  open  to  the 
northern  shore  of  it,  that  is  to  say,  the  outer  end  of  the  island, 
opposite  to  that  which  I  went  out  from. 

When  I  had  made  something  more  than  a  league  of  way  by 
the  help  of  this  current  or  eddy,  I  found  it  was  spent,  and 
served  me  no  farther.  However,  I  found  that  being  between 
the  two  great  currents,  viz.,  that  on  the  south  side,  which  had 
hurried  me  away,  and  that  on  the  north,  which  lay  about  a 
league  on  the  other  side ;  I  say,  between  these  two,  in  the  wake 
of  the  island,  I  found  the  water  at  least  still,  and  running  no 
way;  and  having  still  a  breeze  of  wind  fair  for  me,  I  kept  on 
steering  directly  for  the  island,  though  not  making  such  fresh 
way  as  I  did  before. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  evening,  being  then  within  about 
a  league  of  the  island,  I  found  the  point  of  the  rocks  which  occa- 
sioned this  disaster  stretching  out,  as  is  described  before,  to  the 
southward,  and  casting  off  the  current  more  southwardly  had, 
of  course,  made  another  eddy  to  the  north,  and  this  I  found  very 
strong,  but  not  directly  setting  the  way  my  course  lay,  which 
was  due  west,  but  almost  full  north.     However,  having  a  fresh 

[186] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

gale,  I  stretched  across  this  eddy,  slanting  north-west;  and  in 
about  an  hour  came  within  about  a  mile  of  the  shore,  where,  it 
being  smooth  water,  I  soon  got  to  land. 

When  I  was  on  shore,  I  fell  on  my  knees,  and  gave  God 
thanks  for  my  deliverance,  resolving  to  lay  aside  all  thoughts 
of  my  deliverance  by  my  boat ;  and  refreshing  myself  with  such 
things  as  I  had,  I  brought  my  boat  close  to  the  shore,  in  a  little 
cove  that  I  had  spied  under  some  trees,  and  laid  me  down  to 
sleep,  being  quite  spent  with  the  labor  and  fatigue  of  the 
voyage. 

I  was  now  at  a  great  loss  which  way  to  get  home  with  my 
boat.  I  had  run  so  much  hazard,  and  knew  too  much  the  case, 
to  think  of  attempting  it  by  the  way  I  went  out;  and  what 
might  be  at  the  other  side  (I  mean  the  west  side)  I  knew  not, 
nor  had  I  any  mind  to  run  any  more  ventures.  So  I  only  re- 
solved in  the  morning  to  make  my  way  westward  along  the 
shore,  and  to  see  if  there  was  no  creek  where  I  might  lay  up  my 
frigate  in  safety,  so  as  to  have  her  again  if  I  wanted  her.  In 
about  three  miles,  or  thereabouts,  coasting  the  shore,  I  came  to 
a  very  good  inlet  or  bay,  about  a  mile  over,  which  narrowed  till 
it  came  to  a  very  little  rivulet  or  brook,  where  I  found  a  very 
convenient  harbor  for  my  boat,  and  where  she  lay  as  if  she  had 
been  in  a  little  dock  made  on  purpose  for  her.  Here  I  put  in, 
and  having  stowed  my  boat  very  safe,  I  went  on  shore  to  look 
about  me,  and  see  where  I  was. 

I  soon  found  I  had  but  a  little  passed  by  the  place  where  I 
had  been  before,  when  I  travelled  on  foot  to  that  shore;  so 
taking  nothing  out  of  my  boat  but  my  gun  and  my  umbrella, 

[187] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

for  it  was  exceedingly  hot,  I  began  my  march.  The  way  was 
comfortable  enough  after  such  a  voyage  as  I  had  been  upon, 
and  I  reached  my  old  bower  in  the  evening,  where  I  found 
everything  standing  as  I  left  it;  for  I  always  kept  it  in  good 
order,  being,  as  I  said  before,  my  country  house. 

I  got  over  the  fence,  and  laid  me  down  in  the  shade  to  rest 
my  limbs,  for  I  was  very  weary,  and  feel  asleep.  Rut  judge 
you,  if  you  can,  that  read  my  story,  what  a  surprise  I  must  be 
in,  when  I  was  waked  out  of  my  sleep  by  a  voice  calling  me  by 
my  name  several  times,  "Robin,  Robin,  Robin  Crusoe,  poor 
Robin  Crusoe!  Where  are  you,  Robin  Crusoe?  Where  are 
you?     Where  have  you  been?" 

I  was  so  dead  asleep  at  first,  being  fatigued  with  rowing,  or 
paddling,  as  it  is  called,  the  first  part  of  the  day,  and  with  walk- 
ing the  latter  part,  that  I  did  not  wake  thoroughly ;  but  dozing 
between  sleeping  and  waking,  thought  I  dreamed  that  some- 
body spoke  to  me.  But  as  the  voice  continued  to  repeat  "Robin 
Crusoe,  Robin  Crusoe,"  at  last  I  began  to  wake  more  perfectly, 
and  was  at  first  dreadfully  frightened,  and  started  up  in  the 
utmost  consternation.  But  no  sooner  were  my  eyes  open,  but 
I  saw  my  Poll  sitting  on  the  top  of  the  hedge,  and  immediately 
knew  that  it  was  he  that  spoke  to  me;  for  just  in  such  bemoan- 
ing language  I  had  used  to  talk  to  him,  and  teach  him ;  and  he 
had  learned  it  so  perfectly,  that  he  would  sit  upon  my  finger, 
and  lay  his  bill  close  to  my  face,  and  cry,  "Poor  Robin  Crusoe! 
Where  are  you?  Where  have  you  been?  How  come  you 
here?"  and  such  things  as  I  had  taught  him. 

However,  even  though  I  knew  it  was  the  parrot,  and  that 

[188] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

indeed  it  could  be  nobody  else,  it  was  a  good  while  before  I 
could  compose  myself.  First,  I  was  amazed  how  the  creature 
got  thither,  and  then,  how  he  should  just  keep  about  the  place, 
and  nowhere  else.  But  as  I  was  well  satisfied  it  could  be  no- 
body but  honest  Poll,  I  got  it  over ;  and  holding  out  my  hand, 
and  calling  him  by  his  name,  Poll,  the  sociable  creature,  came 
to  me,  and  sat  upon  my  thumb,  as  he  used  to  do,  and  continued 
talking  to  me,  "Poor  Robin  Crusoe!  and  how  did  I  come  here? 
and  where  had  I  been?"  just  as  if  he  had  been  overjoyed  to  see 
me  again ;  and  so  I  carried  him  home  along  with  me. 

I  had  now  had  enough  of  rambling  to  sea  for  some  time,  and 
had  enough  to  do  for  many  days  to  sit  still,  and  reflect  upon 
the  danger  I  had  been  in.  I  would  have  been  very  glad  to  have 
had  my  boat  again  on  my  side  of  the  island;  but  I  knew  not 
how  it  was  practicable  to  get  it  about.  As  to  the  east  side  of 
the  island,  which  I  had  gone  round,  I  knew  well  enough  there 
was  no  venturing  that  way;  my  very  heart  would  shrink,  and 
my  very  blood  run  chill,  but  to  think  of  it.  And  as  to  the  other 
side  of  the  island,  I  did  not  know  how  it  might  be  there;  but 
supposing  the  current  ran  with  the  same  force  against  the  shore 
at  the  east  as  it  passed  by  it  on  the  other,  I  might  run  the  same 
risk  of  being  driven  down  the  stream,  and  carried  by  the  island, 
as  I  had  been  before  of  being  carried  away  from  it.  So,  with 
these  thoughts,  I  contented  myself  to  be  without  any  boat, 
though  it  had  been  the  product  of  so  many  months'  labor  to 
make  it  and  of  so  many  more  to  get  it  unto  the  sea. 

In  this  government  of  my  temper  I  remained  near  a  year, 
lived  a  very  sedate,  retired  life,  as  you  may  well  suppose ;  and 

[189] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

my  thoughts  being  very  much  composed  as  to  my  condition, 
and  fully  comforted  in  resigning  myself  to  the  dispositions  of 
Providence,  I  thought  I  lived  really  very  happily  in  all  things, 
except  that  of  society. 

I  improved  myself  in  this  time  in  all  the  mechanic  exercises 
which  my  necessities  put  me  upon  applying  myself  to,  and  I 
believe  could,  upon  occasion,  make  a  very  good  carpenter,  espe- 
cially considering  how  few  tools  I  had.  Besides  this,  I  arrived 
at  an  unexpected  perfection  in  my  earthenware,  and  contrived 
well  enough  to  make  them  with  a  wheel,  which  I  found  infi- 
nitely easier  and  better,  because  I  made  things  round  and  shap- 
able  which  before  were  filthy  things  indeed  to  look  on.  But  I 
think  I  was  never  more  vain  of  my  own  performance,  or  more 
joyful  for  anything  found  out,  than  for  my  being  able  to  make 
a  tobacco-pipe.  And  though  it  was  a  very  ugly,  clumsy  thing 
when  it  was  done,  and  only  burnt  red,  like  other  earthenware, 
yet  as  it  was  hard  and  firm,  and  would  draw  the  smoke,  I  was 
exceeding!}"  comforted  with  it;  for  I  had  been  always  used  to 
smoke,  and  there  were  pipes  in  the  ship,  but  I  forgot  them  at 
first,  not  knowing  that  there  was  tobacco  in  the  island;  and 
afterwards,  when  I  searched  the  ship  again,  I  could  not  come 
at  any  pipes  at  all. 

In  my  wicker-ware  also  I  improved  much,  and  made  abun- 
dance of  necessary  baskets,  as  well  as  my  invention  showed  me ; 
though  not  very  handsome,  yet  they  were  such  as  were  very 
handy  and  convenient  for  my  laying  things  up  in,  or  fetching 
things  home  in.  For  example,  if  I  killed  a  goat  abroad,  I 
could  hang  it  up  in  a  tree,  flay  it,  and  dress  it,  and  cut  it  in 

[190] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

pieces,  and  bring  it  home  in  a  basket ;  and  the  like  by  a  turtle ; 
I  could  cut  it  up,  take  out  the  eggs,  and  a  piece  or  two  of  the 
flesh,  which  was  enough  for  me,  and  bring  them  home  in  a 
basket,  and  leave  the  rest  behind  me.  Also  large  deep  baskets 
were  my  receivers  for  my  corn,  which  I  always  rubbed  out  as 
soon  as  it  was  dry,  and  cured,  and  kept  it  in  great  baskets. 

I  began  now  to  perceive  my  powder  abated  considerably, 
and  this  was  a  want  which  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  supply, 
and  I  began  seriously  to  consider  what  I  must  do  when  I  should 
have  no  more  powder;  that  is  to  say,  how  I  should  do  to  kill 
any  goats.  I  had,  as  is  observed,  in  the  third  year  of  my  being 
here  kept  a  young  kid,  and  bred  her  up  tame,  and  I  was  in  hope 
of  getting  a  he-goat.  But  I  could  not  by  any  means  bring  it 
to  pass,  till  my  kid  grew  an  old  goat ;  and  I  could  never  find  in 
my  heart  to  kill  her,  till  she  died  at  last  of  mere  age. 


[191] 


CHAPTER  XVI 

He  Rears  a  Flock  of  Goats — His  Diary — His  Domestic  Habits  and 
Style  of  Living — Increasing  Prosperity 

BUT  being  now  in  the  eleventh  year  of  my  residence,  and 
as  I  have  said,  my  ammunition  growing  low,  I  set  my- 
self to  study  some  art  to  trap  and  snare  the  goats,  to  see 
whether  I  could  not  catch  some  of  them  alive ;  and  particularly, 
I  wanted  a  she-goat  great  with  young. 

To  this  purpose,  I  made  snares  to  hamper  them,  and  I  do 
believe  they  were  more  than  once  taken  in  them ;  but  my  tackle 
was  not  good,  for  I  had  no  wire,  and  I  always  found  them 
broken,  and  my  bait  devoured.  At  length  I  resolved  to  try  a 
pitfall ;  so  I  dug  several  large  pits  in  the  earth,  in  places  where 
I  had  observed  the  goats  used  to  feed,  and  over  these  pits  I 
placed  hurdles,  of  my  own  making  too,  with  a  great  weight 
upon  them ;  and  several  times  I  put  ears  of  barley  and  dry  rice, 
without  setting  the  trap,  and  T  could  easily  perceive  that  the 
goats  had  gone  in  and  eaten  up  the  corn,  for  I  could  see  the 
mark  of  their  feet.  At  length  I  set  three  traps  in  one  night, 
and  going  the  next  morning,  I  found  them  all  standing,  and 
yet  the  bait  eaten  and  gone ;  this  was  very  discouraging.  How- 
ever, I  altered  my  trap ;  and,  not  to  trouble  you  with  particu- 
lars, going  one  morning  to  see  my  trap,  I  found  in  one  of  them 
a  large  old  he-goat,  and  in  one  of  the  others  three  kids,  a  male 
and  two  females. 

[192] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

As  to  the  old  one,  I  knew  not  what  to  do  with  him,  he  was 
so  fierce  I  durst  not  go  into  the  pit  to  him;  that  is  to  say,  to  go 
about  to  bring  him  away  alive,  which  was  what  I  wanted.  I 
could  have  killed  him,  but  that  was  not  my  business,  nor  would 
it  answer  my  end ;  so  I  even  let  him  out,  and  he  ran  away,  as  if 
he  had  been  frightened  out  of  his  wits.  But  I  had  forgotten 
then  what  I  learned  afterwards,  that  hunger  will  tame  a  lion. 
If  I  had  let  him  stay  there  three  or  four  days  without  food,  and 
then  have  carried  him  some  water  to  drink,  and  then  a  little 
corn,  he  would  have  been  as  tame  as  one  of  the  kids,  for  they 
are  mighty  sagacious,  tractable  creatures  where  they  are  well 
used. 

However,  for  the  present  I  let  him  go,  knowing  no  better 
at  that  time.  Then  I  went  to  the  three  kids,  and  taking  them 
one  by  one,  I  tied  them  with  strings  together,  and  with  some 
difficulty  brought  them  all  home. 

It  was  a  good  while  before  they  would  feed,  but  throwing 
them  some  sweet  corn,  it  tempted  them,  and  they  began  to  be 
tame.  And  now  I  found  that  if  I  expected  to  supply  myself 
with  goat-flesh  when  I  had  no  powder  or  shot  left,  breeding 
some  up  tame  was  nry  only  way,  when  perhaps  I  might  have 
them  about  my  house  like  a  flock  of  sheep. 

But  then  it  presently  occurred  to  me  that  I  must  keep  the 
tame  from  the  wild,  or  else  they  would  always  run  wild  when 
they  grew  up ;  and  the  only  way  for  this  was  to  have  some  en- 
closed piece  of  ground,  well  fenced  either  with  hedge  or  pale,  to 
keep  them  in  so  effectually,  that  those  within  might  not  break 
out,  or  those  without  break  in. 

[193] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

This  was  a  great  undertaking  for  one  pair  of  hands ;  yet  as 
I  saw  there  was  an  absolute  necessity  of  doing  it,  my  first  piece 
of  work  was  to  find  out  a  proper  piece  of  ground,  viz.,  where 
there  was  likely  to  be  herbage  for  them  to  eat,  water  for  them 
to  drink,  and  cover  to  keep  them  from  the  sun. 

Those  who  understand  such  enclosures  will  think  I  had  very 
little  contrivance  when  I  pitched  upon  a  place  very  proper  for 
all  these,  being  a  plain  open  piece  of  meadow  land,  or  savanna 
(as  our  people  call  it  in  the  western  colonies),  which  had  two 
or  three  little  drills  of  fresh  water  in  it,  and  at  one  end  was 
very  woody ;  I  say,  they  will  smile  at  my  forecast,  when  I  shall 
tell  them  I  began  my  enclosing  of  this  piece  of  ground  in  such 
a  manner,  that  my  hedge  or  pale  must  have  been  at  least  two 
miles  about.  Nor  was  the  madness  of  it  so  great  as  to  the  com- 
pass, for  if  it  was  ten  miles  about,  I  was  like  to  have  time 
enough  to  do  it  in.  But  I  did  not  consider  that  my  goats  would 
be  as  wild  in  so  much  compass  as  if  they  had  had  the  whole 
island,  and  I  should  have  so  much  room  to  chase  them  in,  that 
I  should  never  catch  them. 

My  hedge  was  begun  and  carried  on,  I  believe,  about  fifty 
yards,  when  this  thought  occurred  to  me,  so  I  presently  stopped 
short,  and,  for  the  first  beginning,  I  resolved  to  enclose  a  piece 
of  about  150  yards  in  length,  and  100  yards  in  breadth;  which, 
as  it  would  maintain  as  many  as  I  should  have  in  any  reasonable 
time,  so,  as  my  flock  increased,  I  could  add  more  ground  to  my 
enclosure. 

This  was  acting  with  some  prudence,  and  I  went  to  work 
with  courage.     I  was  about  three  months  hedging  in  the  first 

[194] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

piece,  and,  till  I  had  done  it,  I  tethered  the  three  kids  in  the 
best  part  of  it,  and  used  them  to  feed  as  near  me  as  possible,  to 
make  them  familiar ;  and  very  often  I  would  go  and  carry  them 
some  ears  of  barley,  or  a  handful  of  rice,  and  feed  them  out  of 
my  hand;  so  that  after  my  enclosure  was  finished,  and  I  let 
them  loose,  they  would  follow  me  up  and  down,  bleating  after 
me  for  a  handful  of  corn. 

This  answered  my  end,  and  in  about  a  year  and  half  I  had  a 
flock  of  about  twelve  goats,  kids  and  all ;  and  in  two  years  more 
I  had  three  and  forty,  besides  several  that  I  took  and  killed  for 
my  food.  And  after  that  I  enclosed  five  several  pieces  of 
ground  to  feed  them  in,  with  little  pens  to  drive  them  into,  to 
take  them  as  I  wanted,  and  gates  out  of  one  piece  of  ground 
into  another. 

But  this  was  not  all,  for  now  I  not  only  had  goat's  flesh  to 
feed  on  when  I  pleased,  but  milk  too,  a  thing  which,  indeed,  in 
my  beginning,  I  did  not  so  much  as  think  of,  and  which,  when 
it  came  into  my  thoughts,  was  really  an  agreeable  surprise. 
For  now  I  set  up  my  dairy,  and  had  sometimes  a  gallon  or  two 
of  milk  in  a  day ;  and  as  Nature,  who  gives  supplies  of  food  to 
every  creature,  dictates  even  naturally  how  to  make  use  of  it,  so 
I,  that  had  never  milked  a  cow,  much  less  a  goat,  or  seen  butter 
or  cheese  made,  very  readily  and  handily,  though  after  a  great 
many  essays  and  miscarriages,  made  me  both  butter  and  cheese 
at  last,  and  never  wanted  it  afterwards. 

How  mercifully  can  our  great  Creator  treat  His  creatures, 
even  in  those  conditions  in  which  they  seemed  to  be  overwhelmed 
in   destruction!     How  can   He   sweeten  the  bitterest  provi- 

[195] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

dences,  and  give  us  cause  to  praise  Him  for  dungeons  and 
prisons !  What  a  table  was  here  spread  for  me  in  a  wilderness, 
where  I  saw  nothing  at  first  but  to  perish  for  hunger ! 

It  would  have  made  a  stoic  smile,  to  have  seen  me  and  my 
little  family  sit  down  to  dinner.  There  was  my  majesty,  the 
prince  and  lord  of  the  whole  island;  I  had  the  lives  of  all  my 
subjects  at  my  absolute  command.  I  could  hang,  draw,  give 
liberty,  and  take  it  away;  and  no  rebels  among  all  my  subjects. 

Then  to  see  how  like  a  king  I  dined,  too,  all  alone,  attended 
by  my  servants.  Poll,  as  if  he  had  been  my  favorite,  was  the 
only  person  permitted  to  talk  to  me.  My  dog,  who  was  now 
grown  very  old  and  crazy,  and  had  found  no  species  to  multiply 
his  kind  upon,  sat  always  at  my  right  hand,  and  two  cats,  one 
on  one  side  the  table,  and  one  on  the  other,  expecting  now  and 
then  a  bit  from  my  hand,  as  a  mark  of  special  favor. 

But  these  were  not  the  two  cats  which  I  brought  on  shore 
at  first,  for  they  were  both  of  them  dead,  and  had  been  interred 
near  my  habitation,  by  my  own  hand.  But  one  of  them  having 
multiplied  by  I  know  not  what  kind  of  creature,  these  were 
two  which  I  had  preserved  tame,  whereas  the  rest  ran  wild  in 
the  woods,  and  became  indeed  troublesome  to  me  at  last;  for 
they  would  often  come  into  my  house,  and  plunder  me  too,  till 
at  last  I  was  obliged  to  shoot  them,  and  did  kill  a  great  many ; 
at  length  they  left  me.  With  this  attendance,  and  in  this  plen- 
tiful manner,  I  lived ;  neither  could  I  be  said  to  want  anything 
but  society;  and  of  that  in  some  time  after  this,  I  was  like  to 
have  too  much. 

I  was  something  impatient,  as  I  have  observed,  to  have  the 

[196] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

use  of  my  boat,  though  very  loth  to  run  any  more  hazards ;  and 
therefore  sometimes  I  sat  contriving  ways  to  get  her  about  the 
island,  and  at  other  times  I  sat  myself  down  contented  enough 
without  her.  But  I  had  a  strange  uneasiness  in  my  mind  to  go 
down  to  the  point  of  the  island,  where,  as  I  have  said,  in  my  last 
ramble,  I  went  up  the  hill  to  see  how  the  shore  lay,  and  how  the 
current  set,  that  I  might  see  what  I  had  to  do.  This  inclination 
increased  upon  me  every  day,  and  at  length  I  resolved  to  travel 
thither  by  land,  following  the  edge  of  the  shore.  I  did  so ;  but 
had  any  one  in  England  been  to  meet  such  a  man  as  I  was,  it 
must  either  have  frightened  them,  or  raised  a  great  deal  of 
laughter;  and  as  I  frequently  stood  still  to  look  at  myself,  I 
could  not  but  smile  at  the  notion  of  my  travelling  through 
Yorkshire,  with  such  an  equipage,  and  in  such  a  dress.  Be 
pleased  to  take  a  sketch  of  my  figure,  as  follows : 

I  had  a  great  high  shapeless  cap,  made  of  a  goat's  skin,  with 
a  flap  hanging  down  behind,  as  well  to  keep  the  sun  from  me, 
as  to  shoot  the  rain  off  from  running  into  my  neck;  nothing 
being  so  hurtful  in  these  climates  as  the  rain  upon  the  flesh, 
under  the  clothes. 

I  had  a  short  jacket  of  goat's  skin,  the  skirts  coming  down 
to  about  the  middle  of  my  thighs;  and  a  pair  of  open-kneed 
breeches  of  the  same.  The  breeches  were  made  of  the  skin  of 
an  old  he-goat,  whose  hair  hung  down  such  a  length  on  either 
side,  that,  like  pantaloons,  it  reached  to  the  middle  of  my  legs. 
Stockings  and  shoes  I  had  none,  but  had  made  me  a  pair  of 
somethings,  I  scarce  know  what  to  call  them,  like  buskins,  to 
flap  over  my  legs,  and  lace  on  either  side  like  spatterdashes; 

[197] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

but  of  a  most  barbarous  shape,  as  indeed  were  all  the  rest  of 
my  clothes. 

I  had  on  a  broad  belt  of  goat's  skin  dried,  which  I  drew 
together  with  two  thongs  of  the  same,  instead  of  buckles ;  and 
in  a  kind  of  a  frog  on  either  side  of  this,  instead  of  a  sword  and 
a  dagger,  hung  a  little  saw  and  a  hatchet,  one  on  one  side,  one 
on  the  other.  I  had  another  belt,  not  so  broad,  and  fastened  in 
the  same  manner,  which  hung  over  my  shoulder ;  and  at  the  end 
of  it,  under  my  left  arm,  hung  two  pouches,  both  made  of  goat's 
skin  too ;  in  one  of  which  hung  my  powder,  in  the  other  my  shot. 
At  my  back  I  carried  my  basket,  on  my  shoulder  my  gun,  and 
over  my  head  a  great  clumsy  ugly  goat-skin  umbrella,  but 
which,  after  all,  was  the  most  necessary  thing  I  had  about  me, 
next  to  my  gun.  As  for  my  face,  the  color  of  it  was  really  not 
so  mulatto-like  as  one  might  expect  from  a  man  not  at  all  care- 
ful of  it,  and  living  within  nineteen  degrees  of  the  equinox. 
My  beard  I  had  once  suffered  to  grow  till  it  was  about  a  quarter 
of  a  yard  long;  but  as  I  had  both  scissors  and  razors  sufficient, 
I  had  cut  it  pretty  short,  except  what  grew  on  my  upper  lip, 
which  I  had  trimmed  into  a  large  pair  of  Mahometan  whiskers, 
such  as  I  had  seen  worn  by  some  Turks  whom  I  saw  at  Sallee; 
for  the  Moors  did  not  wear  such,  though  the  Turks  did.  Of 
these  mustachios  or  whiskers,  I  will  not  say  they  were  long 
enough  to  hang  my  hat  upon  them,  but  they  were  of  a  length 
and  shape  monstrous  enough,  and  such  as,  in  England,  would 
have  passed  for  frightful. 

But  all  this  is  by  the  bye;  for,  as  to  my  figure,  I  had  so  few 
to  observe  me,  that  it  was  of  no  manner  of  consequence;  so  I 

[198] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

say  no  more  to  that  part.  In  this  kind  of  figure  I  went  my  new 
journey,  and  was  out  five  or  six  days.  I  travelled  first  along 
the  sea-shore,  directly  to  the  place  where  I  first  brought  my 
boat  to  an  anchor,  to  get  up  upon  the  rocks.  And  having  no 
boat  now  to  take  care  of,  I  went  over  the  land,  a  nearer  way, 
to  the  same  height  that  I  was  upon  before;  when,  looking  for- 
ward to  the  point  of  the  rocks  which  lay  out,  and  which  I  was 
obliged  to  double  with  my  boat,  as  is  said  above,  I  was  surprised 
to  see  the  sea  all  smooth  and  quiet,  no  rippling,  no  motion,  no 
current,  any  more  there  than  in  other  places. 

I  was  at  a  strange  loss  to  understand  this,  and  resolved  to 
spend  some  time  in  the  observing  it,  to  see  if  nothing  from  the 
sets  of  the  tide  had  occasioned  it.  But  I  was  presently  con- 
vinced how  it  was,  viz.,  that  the  tide  of  ebb  setting  from  the 
west,  and  joining  with  the  current  of  waters  from  some  great 
river  on  the  shore,  must  be  the  occasion  of  this  current ;  and  that 
according  as  the  wind  blew  more  forcibly  from  the  west,  or 
from  the  north,  this  current  came  near,  or  went  farther  from 
the  shore;  for  waiting  thereabouts  till  evening,  I  went  up  to 
the  rock  again,  and  then  the  tide  of  ebb  being  made,  I  plainly 
saw  the  current  again  as  before,  only  that  it  ran  farther  off, 
being  near  half  a  league  from  the  shore ;  whereas  in  my  case  it 
set  close  upon  the  shore,  and  hurried  me  and  my  canoe  along 
with  it,  which,  at  another  time,  it  would  not  have  done. 

This  observation  convinced  me  that  I  had  nothing  to  do  but 
to  observe  the  ebbing  and  the  flowing  of  the  tide,  and  I  might 
very  easily  bring  my  boat  about  the  island  again.  But  when 
I  began  to  think  of  putting  it  in  practice,  I  had  such  a  terror 

[199] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

upon  my  spirits  at  the  remembrance  of  the  danger  I  had  been 
in,  that  I  could  not  think  of  it  again  with  any  patience ;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  I  took  up  another  resolution,  which  was  more  safe, 
though  more  laborious;  and  this  was,  that  I  would  build,  or 
rather  make  me  another  periagua  or  canoe ;  and  so  have  one  for 
one  side  of  the  island,  and  one  for  the  other. 

You  are  to  understand  that  now  I  had,  as  I  may  call  it,  two 
plantations  in  the  island;  one,  my  little  fortification  or  tent, 
with  the  wall  about  it,  under  the  rock,  with  the  cave  behind  me, 
which,  by  this  time,  I  had  enlarged  into  several  apartments  or 
caves,  one  within  another.  One  of  these,  which  was  the  driest 
and  largest,  and  had  a  door  out  beyond  my  wall  or  fortification, 
that  is  to  say,  beyond  where  my  wall  joined  to  the  rock,  was  all 
filled  up  with  the  large  earthen  pots,  of  which  I  have  given  an 
account,  and  with  fourteen  or  fifteen  great  baskets,  which  would 
hold  five  or  six  bushels  each,  where  I  laid  up  my  stores  of  pro- 
vision, especially  my  corn,  some  in  the  ear,  cut  off  short  from 
the  straw,  and  the  other  rubbed  out  with  my  hand. 

As  for  my  wall,  made,  as  before,  with  long  stakes  or  piles, 
those  piles  grew  all  like  trees,  and  were  by  this  time  grown  so 
big,  and  spread  so  very  much,  that  there  was  not  the  least  ap- 
pearance, to  any  one's  view,  of  any  habitation  behind  them. 

Near  this  dwelling  of  mine,  but  a  little  farther  within  the 
land,  and  upon  lower  ground,  lay  my  two  pieces  of  corn 
ground,  which  I  kept  duly  cultivated  and  sowed,  and  which 
duly  yielded  me  their  harvest  in  its  season ;  and  whenever  I  had 
occasion  for  more  corn,  I  had  more  land  adjoining  as  fit  as  that. 

Besides  this,  I  had  my  country  seat,  and  I  had  now  a  toler- 

[200] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

able  plantation  there  also ;  for,  first,  I  had  my  little  bower,  as  I 
called  it,  which  I  kept  in  repair ;  that  is  to  say,  I  kept  the  hedge 
which  circled  it  in  constantly  fitted  up  to  its  usual  height,  the 
ladder  standing  always  in  the  inside.  I  kept  the  trees,  which  at 
first  were  no  more  than  my  stakes,  but  were  now  grown  very 
firm  and  tall,  I  kept  them  always  so  cut,  that  they  might  spread 
and  grow  thick  and  wild,  and  make  the  more  agreeable  shade, 
which  they  did  effectually  to  my  mind.  In  the  middle  of  this, 
I  had  my  tent  always  standing,  being  a  piece  of  a  sail,  spread 
over  poles,  set  up  for  that  purpose,  and  which  never  wanted 
any  repair  or  renewing ;  and  under  this  I  had  made  me  a  squab 
or  couch,  with  the  skins  of  the  creatures  I  had  killed,  and  with 
other  soft  things,  and  a  blanket  laid  on  them,  such  as  belonged 
to  our  sea-bedding,  which  I  had  saved,  and  a  great  watch-coat 
to  cover  me;  and  here,  whenever  I  had  occasion  to  be  absent 
from  my  chief  seat,  I  took  up  my  country  habitation. 

Adjoining  to  this  I  had  my  enclosures  for  my  cattle,  that  is 
to  say,  my  goats.  And  as  I  had  taken  an  inconceivable  deal  of 
pains  to  fence  and  enclose  this  ground,  so  I  was  so  uneasy  to 
see  it  kept  entire,  lest  the  goats  should  break  through,  that  I 
never  left  off  till,  with  infinite  labor,  I  had  stuck  the  outside  of 
the  hedge  so  full  of  small  stakes,  and  so  near  to  one  another, 
that  it  was  rather  a  pale  than  a  hedge,  and  there  was  scarce 
room  to  put  a  hand  through  between  them;  which  afterwards, 
when  those  stakes  grew,  as  they  all  did  in  the  next  rainy  season, 
made  the  enclosure  strong  like  a  wall,  indeed,  stronger  than 
any  wall. 

This  will  testify  for  me  that  I  was  not  idle,  and  that  I 

[201] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

spared  no  pains  to  bring  to  pass  whatever  appeared  necessary 
for  my  comfortable  support;  for  I  considered  the  keeping  up 
a  breed  of  tame  creatures  thus  at  my  hand  would  be  a  living 
magazine  of  flesh,  milk,  butter,  and  cheese  for  me  as  long  as  I 
lived  in  the  place,  if  it  were  to  be  forty  years ;  and  that  keeping 
them  in  my  reach  depended  entirely  upon  my  perfecting  my 
enclosures  to  such  a  degree,  that  I  might  be  sure  of  keeping 
them  together;  which,  by  this  method,  indeed,  I  so  effectually 
secured,  that  when  these  little  stakes  began  to  grow,  I  had 
planted  them  so  very  thick,  I  was  forced  to  pull  some  of  them 
up  again. 

In  this  place  also  I  had  my  grapes  growing,  which  I  prin- 
cipally depended  on  for  my  winter  store  of  raisins,  and  which 
I  never  failed  to  preserve  very  carefully,  as  the  best  and  most 
agreeable  dainty  of  my  whole  diet.  And  indeed  they  were  not 
agreeable  only,  but  physical,  wholesome,  nourishing,  and  re- 
freshing to  the  last  degree. 

As  this  was  also  about  half-way  between  my  other  habita- 
tion and  the  place  where  I  had  laid  up  my  boat,  I  generally 
stayed  and  lay  here  in  my  way  thither;  for  I  used  frequently 
to  visit  my  boat,  and  I  kept  all  things  about,  or  belonging  to 
her,  in  very  good  order.  Sometimes  I  went  out  in  her  to  divert 
myself,  but  no  more  hazardous  voyages  would  I  go,  nor  scarce 
ever  above  a  stone's  cast  or  two  from  the  shore,  I  was  so  appre- 
hensive of  being  hurried  out  of  my  knowledge  again  by  the 
currents  or  winds,  or  any  other  accident.  But  now  I  come  to  a 
new  scene  of  my  life. 

[202] 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Unexpected  Alarm— Cause  for  Apprehension — He  Fortifies  His  Abode 

IT  happened  one  day,  about  noon,  going  towards  my  boat, 
I  was  exceedingly  surprised  with  the  print  of  a  man's 
naked  foot  on  the  shore,  which  was  very  plain  to  be  seen 
in  the  sand.  I  stood  like  one  thunderstruck,  or  as  if  I  had 
seen  an  apparition.  I  listened,  I  looked  round  me,  I  could 
hear  nothing,  nor  see  anything.  I  went  up  to  a  rising  ground, 
to  look  farther.  I  went  up  the  shore,  and  down  the  shore,  but 
it  was  all  one;  I  could  see  no  other  impression  but  that  one. 
I  went  to  it  again  to  see  if  there  were  any  more,  and  to  ob- 
serve if  it  might  not  be  my  fancy;  but  there  was  no  room  for 
that,  for  there  was  exactly  the  very  print  of  a  foot — toes,  heel, 
and  every  part  of  a  foot.  How  it  came  thither  I  knew  not,  nor 
could  in  the  least  imagine.  But  after  innumerable  fluttering 
thoughts,  like  a  man  perfectly  confused  and  out  of  myself,  I 
came  home  to  my  fortification,  not  feeling,  as  we  say,  the 
ground  I  went  on,  but  terrified  to  the  last  degree,  looking  be- 
hind me  at  every  two  or  three  steps,  mistaking  every  bush  and 
tree,  and  fancying  every  stump  at  a  distance  to  be  a  man;  nor 
is  it  possible  to  describe  how  many  various  shapes  affrighted 
imagination  represented  things  to  me  in,  how  many  wild  ideas 
were  found  every  moment  in  my  fancy,  and  what  strange,  un- 
accountable whimsies  came  into  my  thoughts  by  the  way. 

[203] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

When  I  came  to  my  castle,  for  so  I  think  I  called  it  ever 
after  this,  I  fled  into  it  like  one  pursued.  Whether  I  went  over 
by  the  ladder,  as  first  contrived,  or  went  in  at  the  hole  in  the 
rock,  which  I  called  a  door,  I  cannot  remember ;  no,  nor  could  I 
remember  the  next  morning,  for  never  frightened  hare  fled  to 
cover,  or  fox  to  earth,  with  more  terror  of  mind  than  I  to  this 
retreat. 

I  slept  none  that  night.  The  farther  I  was  from  the  occa- 
sion of  my  fright,  the  greater  my  apprehensions  were;  which 
is  something  contrary  to  the  nature  of  such  things,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  usual  practice  of  all  creatures  in  fear.  But  I  was 
so  embarrassed  with  my  own  frightful  ideas  of  the  thing,  that  I 
formed  nothing  but  dismal  imaginations  to  myself,  even  though 
I  was  now  a  great  way  off  it.  Sometimes  I  fancied  it  must  be 
the  devil,  and  reason  joined  in  with  me  upon  this  supposition; 
for  how  should  any  other  thing  in  human  shape  come  into  the 
place?  Where  was  the  vessel  that  brought  them?  What 
marks  were  there  of  any  other  footsteps?  And  how  was  it 
possible  a  man  should  come  there?  But  then  to  think  that 
Satan  should  take  human  shape  upon  him  in  such  a  place,  where 
there  could  be  no  manner  of  occasion  for  it,  but  to  leave  the 
print  of  his  foot  behind  him,  and  that  even  for  no  purpose  too, 
for  he  could  not  be  sure  I  should  see  it ;  this  was  an  amusement 
the  other  way.  I  considered  that  the  devil  might  have  found 
out  abundance  of  other  ways  to  have  terrified  me  than  this  of 
the  single  print  of  a  foot ;  that  as  I  lived  quite  on  the  other  side 
of  the  island,  he  would  never  have  been  so  simple  to  leave  a 
mark  in  a  place  where  it  was  ten  thousand  to  one  whether  I 

[204] 


"I  stood  like  one  thunderstruck,  or  as  if  I  had  seen  an  apparition 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

should  ever  see  it  or  not,  and  in  the  sand  too,  which  the  first 
surge  of  the  sea,  upon  a  high  wind,  would  have  defaced  entirely. 
All  this  seemed  inconsistent  with  the  thing  itself,  and  with  all 
the  notions  we  usually  entertain  of  the  subtility  of  the  devil. 

Abundance  of  such  things  as  these  assisted  to  argue  me  out 
of  all  apprehensions  of  its  being  the  devil ;  and  I  presently  con- 
cluded then,  that  it  must  be  some  more  dangerous  creature, 
viz.,  that  it  must  be  some  of  the  savages  of  the  mainland  over 
against  me,  who  had  wandered  out  to  sea  in  their  canoes,  and, 
either  driven  by  the  currents  or  by  contrary  winds,  had  made 
the  island,  and  had  been  on  shore,  but  were  gone  away  again  to 
sea,  being  as  loth,  perhaps,  to  have  stayed  in  this  desolate  island 
as  I  would  have  been  to  have  had  them. 

While  these  reflections  were  rolling  upon  my  mind,  I  was 
very  thankful  in  my  thoughts  that  I  was  so  happy  as  not  to  be 
thereabouts  at  that  time,  or  that  they  did  not  see  my  boat,  by 
which  they  would  have  concluded  that  some  inhabitants  had 
been  in  the  place,  and  perhaps  have  searched  farther  for  me. 
Then  terrible  thoughts  racked  my  imagination  about  their  hav- 
ing found  my  boat,  and  that  there  were  people  here;  and  that 
if  so,  I  should  certainly  have  them  come  again  in  greater  num- 
bers, and  devour  me;  and  if  it  should  happen  so  that  they 
should  not  find  me,  yet  they  would  find  my  enclosure,  destroy 
all  my  corn,  carry  away  all  my  flock  of  tame  goats,  and  I  should 
perish  at  last  for  mere  want. 

Thus  my  fear  banished  all  my  religious  hope.  All  that 
former  confidence  in  God,  which  was  founded  upon  such  won- 
derful experience  as  I  had  had  of  His  goodness,  now  vanished, 

[205] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

as  if  He  that  had  fed  me  by  miracle  hitherto  could  not  preserve, 
by  His  power,  the  provision  which  He  had  made  for  me  by  His 
goodness.  I  reproached  myself  with  my  easiness,  that  would 
not  sow  any  more  corn  one  year  than  would  just  serve  me  till 
the  next  season,  as  if  no  accident  could  intervene  to  prevent  my 
enjoying  the  crop  that  was  upon  the  ground.  And  this  I 
thought  so  just  a  reproof,  that  I  resolved  for  the  future  to 
have  two  or  three  years'  corn  beforehand,  so  that,  whatever 
might  come,  I  might  not  perish  for  want  of  bread. 

How  strange  a  checker-work  of  Providence  is  the  life  of 
man!  and  by  what  secret  differing  springs  are  the  affections 
hurried  about  as  differing  circumstances  present!  To-day  we 
love  what  to-morrow  we  hate;  to-day  we  seek  what  to-morrow 
we  shun;  to-day  we  desire  what  to-morrow  we  fear;  nay,  even 
tremble  at  the  apprehensions  of.  This  was  exemplified  in  me, 
at  this  time,  in  the  most  lively  manner  imaginable ;  for  I,  whose 
only  affliction  was  that  I  seemed  banished  from  human  society, 
that  I  was  alone,  circumscribed  by  the  boundless  ocean,  cut  off 
from  mankind,  and  condemned  to  what  I  called  silent  life ;  that 
I  was  as  one  whom  Heaven  thought  not  worthy  to  be  numbered 
among  the  living,  or  to  appear  among  the  rest  of  His  creatures ; 
that  to  have  seen  one  of  my  own  species  would  have  seemed  to 
me  a  raising  me  from  death  to  life,  and  the  greatest  blessing 
that  Heaven  itself,  next  to  the  supreme  blessing  of  salvation, 
could  bestow;  I  say,  that  I  should  now  tremble  at  the  very  ap- 
prehensions of  seeing  a  man,  and  was  ready  to  sink  into  the 
ground  at  but  the  shadow  or  silent  appearance  of  a  man's 
having  set  his  foot  in  the  island ! 

[206] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

Such  is  the  uneven  state  of  human  life ;  and  it  afforded  me  a 
great  many  curious  speculations  afterwards,  when  I  had  a  little 
recovered  my  first  surprise.  I  considered  that  this  was  the  sta- 
tion of  life  the  infinitely  wise  and  good  providence  of  God  had 
determined  for  me;  that,  as  I  could  not  foresee  what  the  ends  of 
Divine  wisdom  might  be  in  all  this,  so  I  was  not  to  dispute  His 
sovereignty,  who,  as  I  was  His  creature,  had  an  undoubted 
right,  by  creation,  to  govern  and  dispose  of  me  absolutely  as 
He  thought  fit,  and  who,  as  I  was  a  creature  who  had  offended 
Him,  had  likewise  a  judicial  right  to  condemn  me  to  what  pun- 
ishment He  thought  fit ;  and  that  it  was  my  part  to  submit  to 
bear  His  indignation,  because  I  had  sinned  against  Him. 

I  then  reflected  that  God,  who  was  not  only  righteous,  but 
omnipotent,  as  He  had  thought  fit  thus  to  punish  and  afflict  me, 
so  He  was  able  to  deliver  me ;  that  if  He  did  not  think  fit  to  do 
it  'twas  my  unquestioned  duty  to  resign  myself  absolutely  and 
entirely  to  His  will ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  my  duty  also 
to  hope  in  Him,  pray  to  Him,  and  quietly  to  attend  the  dictates 
and  directions  of  His  daily  providence. 

These  thoughts  took  me  up  many  hours,  days,  nay,  I  may 
say,  weeks  and  months ;  and  one  particular  effect  of  my  cogita- 
tions on  this  occasion  I  cannot  omit,  viz.,  one  morning  early, 
lying  in  my  bed,  and  filled  with  thought  about  my  danger  from 
the  appearance  of  savages,  I  found  it  discomposed  me  very 
much;  upon  which  those  words  of  the  Scripture  came  into  my 
thoughts,  "Call  upon  Me  in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  I  will  de- 
liver, and  thou  shalt  glorify  Me." 

Upon  this,  rising  cheerfully  out  of  my  bed,  my  heart  was 

[207] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

not  only  comforted,  but  I  was  guided  and  encouraged  to  pray 
earnestly  to  God  for  deliverance.  When  I  had  done  praying, 
I  took  up  my  Bible,  and  opening  it  to  read,  the  first  words  that 
presented  to  me  were,  "Wait  on  the  Lord,  and  be  of  good  cheer, 
and  He  shall  strengthen  thy  heart;  wait,  I  say,  on  the  Lord." 
It  is  impossible  to  express  the  comfort  this  gave  me.  In  an- 
swer, I  thankfully  laid  down  the  book,  and  was  no  more  sad, 
at  least,  not  on  that  occasion. 

In  the  middle  of  these  cogitations,  apprehensions,  and  re- 
flections, it  came  into  my  thought  one  da}T,  that  all  this  might 
be  a  mere  chimera  of  my  own ;  and  that  this  foot  might  be  the 
print  of  my  own  foot,  when  I  came  on  shore  from  my  boat. 
This  cheered  me  up  a  little  too,  and  I  began  to  persuade  myself 
it  was  all  a  delusion,  that  it  was  nothing  else  but  my  own  foot ; 
and  why  might  not  I  come  that  way  from  the  boat,  as  well  as  I 
was  going  that  way  to  the  boat  ?  Again,  I  considered  also,  that 
I  could  by  no  means  tell,  for  certain,  where  I  had  trod,  and 
where  I  had  not ;  and  that  if,  at  last,  this  was  only  the  print  of 
my  own  foot,  I  had  played  the  part  of  those  fools  who  strive 
to  make  stories  of  spectres  and  apparitions,  and  then  are 
frightened  at  them  more  than  anybody. 

Now  I  began  to  take  courage,  and  to  peep  abroad  again, 
for  I  had  not  stirred  out  of  my  castle  for  three  days  and  nights, 
so  that  I  began  to  starve  for  provision ;  for  I  had  little  or  noth- 
ing within  doors  but  some  barley-cakes  and  water.  Then  I 
knew  that  my  goats  wanted  to  be  milked  too,  which  usually  was 
my  evening  diversion;  and  the  poor  creatures  were  in  great 
pain   and  inconvenience   for  want  of  it;  and,  indeed,  it  al- 

[208] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

most  spoiled  some  of  them,  and  almost  dried  up  their  milk. 

Heartening  myself,  therefore,  with  the  belief  that  this  was 
nothing  but  the  print  of  one  of  my  own  feet,  and  so  I  might  be 
truly  said  to  start  at  my  own  shadow,  I  began  to  go  abroad 
again,  and  went  to  my  counhy  house  to  milk  my  flock.  Rut  to 
see  with  what  fear  I  went  forward,  how  often  I  looked  behind 
me,  how  I  was  ready,  every  now  and  then,  to  lay  down  my 
basket,  and  run  for  my  life,  it  would  have  made  any  one  have 
thought  I  was  haunted  with  an  evil  conscience,  or  that  I  had 
been  lately  most  terribly  frightened ;  and  so,  indeed,  I  had. 

However,  as  I  went  down  thus  two  or  three  days,  and  hav- 
ing seen  nothing,  I  began  to  be  a  little  bolder,  and  to  think 
there  was  really  nothing  in  it  but  my  own  imagination.     But 
I  could  not  persuade  myself  fully  of  this  till  I  should  go  down 
to  the  shore  again,  and  see  this  print  of  a  foot,  and  measure  it 
by  my  own,  and  see  if  there  was  any  similitude  or  fitness,  that 
I  might  be  assured  it  was  my  own  foot.     But  when  I  came  to 
the  place,  first,  it  appeared  evidently  to  me,  that  when  I  laid  up 
my  boat,  I  could  not  possibly  be  on  shore  anywhere  thereabout ; 
secondly,  when  I  came  to  measure  the  mark  with  my  own  foot, 
I  found  my  foot  not  so  large  by  a  great  deal.     Both  these 
things  filled  my  head  with  new  imaginings,  and  gave  me  the 
vapors  again  to  the  highest  degree;  so  that  I  shook  with  cold, 
like  one  in  an  ague ;  and  I  went  home  again,  filled  with  the  be- 
lief that  some  man  or  men  had  been  on  shore  there;  or,  in  short, 
that  the  island  was  inhabited,  and  I  might  be  surprised  before  J 
was  aware.     And  what  course  to  take  for  my  security,  I  knew 
not. 

[209] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

Oh,  what  ridiculous  resolutions  men  take  when  possessed 
with  fear!  It  deprives  them  of  the  use  of  those  means  which 
reason  offers  for  their  relief.  The  first  thing  I  proposed  to 
myself  was  to  throw  down  my  enclosures,  and  turn  all  my  tame 
cattle  wild  into  the  woods,  that  the  enemy  might  not  find  them, 
and  then  frequent  the  island  in  prospect  of  the  same  or  the  like 
booty;  then  to  the  simple  thing  of  digging  up  my  two  corn- 
fields, that  they  might  not  find  such  a  grain  there,  and  still  be 
prompted  to  frequent  the  island;  then  to  demolish  my  bower 
and  tent,  that  they  might  not  see  any  vestiges  of  habitation,  and 
be  prompted  to  look  farther,  in  order  to  find  out  the  persons 
inhabiting. 

These  were  the  subject  of  the  first  night's  cogitation,  after 
I  was  come  home  again,  while  the  apprehensions  which  had  so 
overrun  my  mind  were  fresh  upon  me,  and  my  head  was  full 
of  vapors,  as  above.  Thus  fear  of  danger  is  ten  thousand  times 
more  terrifying  than  danger  itself  when  apparent  to  the  eyes ; 
and  we  find  the  burden  of  anxiety  greater,  by  much,  than  the 
evil  which  we  are  anxious  about ;  and,  which  was  worse  than  all 
this,  I  had  not  that  relief  in  this  trouble  from  the  resignation  I 
used  to  practise,  that  I  hoped  to  have.  I  looked,  I  thought, 
like  Saul,  who  complained  not  only  that  the  Philistines  were 
upon  him,  but  that  God  had  forsaken  him;  for  I  did  not  now 
take  due  ways  to  compose  my  mind,  by  crying  to  God  in  my 
distress,  and  resting  upon  His  providence,  as  I  had  done  before, 
for  my  defence  and  deliverance ;  which,  if  I  had  done,  I  had  at 
least  been  more  cheerfully  supported  under  this  new  surprise, 
and  perhaps  carried  through  it  with  more  resolution. 

f210] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

This  confusion  of  my  thoughts  kept  me  waking  all  night, 
but  in  the  morning  I  fell  asleep;  and  having,  by  the  amuse- 
ment of  my  mind,  been,  as  it  were,  tired,  and  my  spirits  ex- 
hausted, I  slept  very  soundly,  and  waked  much  better  com- 
posed than  I  had  ever  been  before.  And  now  I  began  to 
think  sedately;  and  upon  the  utmost  debate  with  myself,  I 
concluded  that  this  island,  which  was  so  exceeding  pleasant, 
fruitful,  and  no  farther  from  the  mainland  than  as  I  had  seen, 
was  not  so  entirely  abandoned  as  I  might  imagine;  that  al- 
though there  were  no  stated  inhabitants  who  lived  on  the 
spot,  yet  that  there  might  sometimes  come  boats  off  from  the 
shore,  which,  either  with  design,  or  perhaps  never  but  when  they 
were  driven  by  cross  winds,  might  come  to  this  place;  that  I 
had  lived  here  fifteen  years  now,  and  had  not  met  with  the 
least  shadow  or  figure  of  any  people  yet ;  and  that  if  at  any  time 
they  should  be  driven  here,  it  was  probable  they  went  away 
again  as  soon  as  ever  they  could,  seeing  they  had  never  thought 
fit  to  fix  there  upon  any  occasion  to  this  time;  that  the  most 
I  could  suggest  any  danger  from,  was  from  any  such  casual 
accidental  landing  of  straggling  people  from  the  main,  who, 
as  it  was  likely  if  they  were  driven  hither,  were  here  against 
their  wills;  so  thev  made  no  stay  here,  but  went  off  again 
with  all  possible  speed,  seldom  staying  one  night  on  shore,  lest 
they  should  not  have  the  help  of  the.  tides  and  daylight  back 
again ;  and  that,  therefore,  I  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  consider 
of  some  safe  retreat,  in  case  I  should  see  any  savages  land  upon 
the  spot. 

Now  I  began  sorely  to  repent  that  I  had  dug  my  cave  so 

[211] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

large  as  to  bring  a  door  through  again,  which  door,  as  I  said, 
came  out  beyond  where  my  fortification  joined  to  the  rock. 
Upon  maturely  considering  this,  therefore,  I  resolved  to  draw 
me  a  second  fortification  in  the  same  manner  of  a  semicircle,  at 
a  distance  from  my  wall,  just  where  I  had  planted  a  double 
row  of  trees  about  twelve  years  before,  of  which  I  made  men- 
tion. These  trees  having  been  planted  so  thick  before,  they 
wanted  but  a  few  piles  to  be  driven  between  them,  that  they 
should  be  thicker  and  stronger,  and  my  wall  would  be  soon 
finished. 

So  that  I  had  now  a  double  wall;  and  my  outer  wall  was 
thickened  with  pieces  of  timber,  old  cables,  and  everything 
I  could  think  of,  to  make  it  strong,  having  in  it  seven  little 
holes,  about  as  big  as  I  might  put  my  arm  out  at.  In  the  in- 
side of  this  I  thickened  my  wall  to  about  ten  feet  thick,  with 
continual  bringing  earth  out  of  my  cave,  and  laying  it  at  the 
foot  of  the  wall,  and  walking  upon  it;  and  through  the  seven 
holes  I  contrived  to  plant  the  muskets,  of  which  I  took  notice 
that  I  got  seven  on  shore  out  of  the  ship.  These,  I  say,  I 
planted  like  my  cannon,  and  fitted  them  into  frames,  that 
held  them  like  a  carriage,  that  so  I  could  fire  all  the  seven  guns 
in  two  minutes'  time.  This  wall  I  was  many  a  weary  month 
a-finishing,  and  yet  never  thought  myself  safe  till  it  was  done. 

When  this  was  done,  I  stuck  all  the  ground  without  my 
wall,  for  a  great  way  every  way,  as  full  with  stakes,  or  sticks, 
of  the  osier-like  wood,  which  I  found  so  apt  to  grow,  as  they 
could  well  stand ;  insomuch,  that  I  believe  I  might  set  in  near 
twenty  thousand  of  them,  leaving  a  pretty  large  space  between 

[212] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

them  and  my  wall,  that  I  might  have  room  to  see  an  enemy,  and 
they  might  have  no  shelter  from  the  young  trees,  if  they  at- 
tempted to  approach  my  outer  wall. 

Thus  in  two  years'  time  I  had  a  thick  grove;  and  in  five 
or  six  years'  time  I  had  a  wood  before  my  dwelling,  growing  so 
monstrous  thick  and  strong,  that  it  was  indeed  perfectly  im- 
passable; and  no  men,  of  what  kind  soever,  would  ever  im- 
agine that  there  was  anything  beyond  it,  much  less  a  habita- 
tion. As  for  the  way  which  I  proposed  to  myself  to  go  in 
and  out,  for  I  left  no  avenue,  it  was  by  setting  two  ladders, 
one  to  a  part  of  the  rock  which  was  low,  and  then  broke  in, 
and  left  room  to  place  another  ladder  upon  that;  so  when  the 
two  ladders  were  taken  down,  no  man  living  could  come  down 
to  me  without  hurting  himself ;  and  if  they  had  come  down,  they 
were  still  on  the  outside  of  my  outer  wall. 

Thus  I  took  all  the  measures  human  prudence  could  sug- 
gest for  my  own  preservation ;  and  it  will  be  seen,  at  length,  that 
they  were  not  altogether  without  just  reason;  though  I  fore- 
saw nothing  at  that  time  more  than  my  mere  fear  suggested 
to  me. 

While  this  was  doing,  I  was  not  altogether  careless  of  my 
other  affairs;  for  I  had  a  great  concern  upon  me  for  my  little 
herd  of  goats.  They  were  not  only  a  present  supply  to  me 
upon  every  occasion,  and  began  to  be  sufficient  to  me,  without 
the  expense  of  powder  and  shot,  but  also  without  the  fatigue 
of  hunting  after  the  wild  ones ;  and  I  was  loth  to  lose  the  ad- 
vantage of  them,  and  to  have  them  all  to  nurse  up  over  again. 

To  this  purpose,  after  long  consideration,  I  could  think  of 

[213] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

but  two  ways  to  preserve  them.  One  was,  to  find  another  con- 
venient place  to  dig  a  cave  under  ground,  and  to  drive  them 
into  it  every  night ;  and  the  other  was,  to  enclose  two  or  three 
little  bits  of  land,  remote  from  one  another,  and  as  much  con- 
cealed as  I  could,  where  I  might  keep  about  half  a  dozen  young 
goats  in  each  place;  so  that  if  any  disaster  happened  to  the 
flock  in  general,  I  might  be  able  to  raise  them  again  with  little 
trouble  and  time.  And  this,  though  it  would  require  a  great 
deal  of  time  and  labor,  I  thought  was  the  most  rational  design. 
Accordingly  I  spent  some  time  to  find  out  the  most  retired 
parts  of  the  island;  and  I  pitched  upon  one  which  was  as 
private  indeed  as  my  heart  could  wish  for.  It  was  a  little 
damp  piece  of  ground,  in  the  middle  of  the  hollow  and  thick 
woods,  where,  as  is  observed,  I  almost  lost  myself  once  before, 
endeavoring  to  come  back  that  way  from  the  eastern  part  of 
the  island.  Here  I  found  a  clear  piece  of  land,  near  three 
acres,  so  surrounded  with  woods,  that  it  was  almost  an  en- 
closure by  Nature;  at  least,  it  did  not  want  near  so  much 
labor  to  make  it  so  as  the  other  pieces  of  ground  I  had  worked 
so  hard  at. 


[214] 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

Precautions  Agamst  Surprise — Robinson  Discovers  that  His  Island 
Has  Been  Visited  by  Cannibals 

I  IMMEDIATELY  went  to  work  with  this  piece  of 
ground,  and  in  less  than  a  month's  time  I  had  so  fenced 
it  round,  that  my  flock,  or  herd,  call  it  which  you  please, 
who  were  not  so  wild  now  as  at  first  they  might  be  supposed  to 
be,  were  well  enough  secured  in  it.  So,  without  any  farther 
delay,  I  removed  ten  young  she-goats  and  two  he-goats  to  this 
piece.  And  when  they  were  there,  I  continued  to  perfect  the 
fence,  till  I  had  made  it  as  secure  as  the  other,  which,  however, 
I  did  at  more  leisure,  and  it  took  me  up  more  time  by  a  great 
deal. 

All  this  labor  I  was  at  the  expense  of,  purely  from  my 
apprehensions  on  the  account  of  the  print  of  a  man's  foot  which 
I  had  seen;  for,  as  yet,  I  never  saw  any  human  creature  come 
near  the  island.  And  I  had  now  lived  two  years  under  these 
uneasinesses,  which,  indeed,  made  my  life  much  less  comfortable 
than  it  was  before,  as  may  well  be  imagined  by  any  who  know 
what  it  is  to  live  in  the  constant  snare  of  the  fear  of  man.  And 
this  I  must  observe,  with  grief  too,  that  the  discomposure  of 
my  mind  had  too  great  impressions  also  upon  the  religious  part 
of  my  thoughts;  for  the  dread  and  terror  of  falling  into  the 
hands  of  savages  and  cannibals  lay  so  upon  my  spirits,  that  I 

[215] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

seldom  found  myself  in  a  due  temper  or  application  to  my 
Maker,  at  least  not  with  the  sedate  calmness  and  resignation  of 
soul  which  I  was  wont  to  do.  I  rather  prayed  to  God  as  un- 
der great  affliction  and  pressure  of  mind,  surrounded  with 
danger,  and  in  expectation  every  night  of  being  murdered  and 
devoured  before  morning;  and  I  must  testify  from  my  ex- 
perience, that  a  temper  of  peace,  thankfulness,  love,  and  af- 
fection, is  much  more  the  proper  frame  for  prayer  than  that  of 
terror  and  discomposure ;  and  that  under  the  dread  of  mischief 
impending,  a  man  is  no  more  fit  for  a  comforting  performance 
of  the  duty  of  praying  to  God,  than  he  is  for  repentance  on  a 
sick-bed.  For  these  discomposures  affect  the  mind,  as  the 
others  do  the  body;  and  the  discomposure  of  the  mind  must 
necessarily  be  as  great  a  disability  as  that  of  the  body,  and 
much  greater,  praying  to  God  being  properly  an  act  of  the 
mind,  not  of  the  body. 

But  to  go  on.  After  I  had  thus  secured  one  part  of  my 
little  living  stock,  I  went  about  the  whole  island,  searching  for 
another  private  place  to  make  such  another  deposit;  when, 
wandering  more  to  the  west  point  of  the  island  than  I  had 
ever  done  yet,  and  looking  out  to  sea,  I  thought  I  saw  a  boat 
upon  the  sea,  at  a  great  distance.  I  had  found  a  perspective 
glass  or  two  in  one  of  the  seamen's  chests,  which  I  saved  out  of 
our  ship,  but  I  had  it  not  about  me;  and  this  was  so  remote, 
that  I  could  not  tell  what  to  make  of  it,  though  I  looked  at  it 
till  my  eyes  were  not  able  to  hold  to  look  any  longer.  Whether 
it  was  a  boat  or  not,  I  do  not  know;  but  as  I  descended  from 
the  hill,  I  could  see  no  more  of  it,  so  I  gave  it  over;  only 

[216] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  resolved  to  go  no  more  out  without  a  perspective  glass  in  my 
pocket. 

When  I  was  come  down  the  hill  to  the  end  of  the  island, 
where,  indeed,  I  had  never  been  before,  I  was  presently  con- 
vinced that  the  seeing  the  print  of  a  man's  foot  was  not  such 
a  strange  thing  in  the  island  as  I  imagined.  And,  but  that 
it  was  a  special  providence  that  I  was  cast  upon  the  side  of  the 
island  where  the  savages  never  came,  I  should  easily  have 
known  that  nothing  was  more  frequent  than  for  the  canoes  from 
the  main,  when  they  happened  to  be  a  little  too  far  out  at  sea, 
to  shoot  over  to  that  side  of  the  island  for  harbor ;  likewise,  as 
they  often  met  and  fought  in  their  canoes,  the  victors  having 
taken  any  prisoners  would  bring  them  over  to  this  shore,  where, 
according  to  their  dreadful  customs,  being  all  cannibals,  they 
would  kill  and  eat  them;  of  which  hereafter. 

When  I  was  come  down  the  hill  to  the  shore,  as  I  said  above, 
being  the  S.W.  point  of  the  island,  I  was  perfectly  confounded 
and  amazed;  nor  is  it  possible  for  me  to  express  the  horror  of 
my  mind  at  seeing  the  shore  spread  with  skulls,  hands,  feet,  and 
other  bones  of  human  bodies;  and  particularly,  I  observed  a 
place  where  there  had  been  a  fire  made,  and  a  circle  dug  in  the 
earth,  like  a  cockpit,  where  it  is  supposed  the  savage  wretches 
had  sat  down  to  the  inhuman  feastings  upon  the  bodies  of 
their  fellow-creatures. 

I  was  so  astonished  with  the  sight  of  these  things,  that  I 
entertained  no  notion  of  any  danger  to  myself  from  it  for  a 
long  while.  All  my  apprehensions  were  buried  in  the  thoughts 
of  such  a  pitch  of  inhuman,  hellish  brutality,  and  the  horror 

[217] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

of  the  degeneracy  of  human  nature,  which,  though  I  had  heard 
of  often,  yet  I  never  had  so  near  a  view  of  before.  In  short, 
I  turned  away  my  face  from  the  horrid  spectacle.  My  stomach 
grew  sick,  and  I  was  just  at  the  point  of  fainting,  when  Nature 
discharged  the  disorder  from  my  stomach.  And  having 
vomited  with  an  uncommon  violence,  I  was  a  little  relieved,  but 
could  not  bear  to  stay  in  the  place  a  moment ;  so  I  got  me  up 
the  hill  again  with  all  the  speed  I  could,  and  walked  on  towards 
my  own  habitation. 

When  I  came  a  little  out  of  that  part  of  the  island,  I  stood 
still  a  while,  as  amazed ;  and  then  recovering  myself,  I  looked  up 
with  the  utmost  affection  of  my  soul,  and  with  a  flood  of  tears 
in  my  eyes,  gave  God  thanks,  that  had  cast  my  first  lot  in  a  part 
of  the  world  where  I  was  distinguished  from  such  dreadful  crea- 
tures as  these ;  and  that,  though  I  had  esteemed  my  present  con- 
dition very  miserable,  had  yet  given  me  so  many  comforts  in 
it,  that  I  had  still  more  to  give  thanks  for  than  to  complain  of ; 
and  this  above  all,  that  I  had,  even  in  this  miserable  condition, 
been  comforted  with  the  knowledge  of  Himself,  and  the  hope 
of  His  blessing;  which  was  a  felicity  more  than  sufficiently 
equivalent  to  all  the  misery  which  I  had  suffered,  or  could 
suffer. 

In  this  frame  of  thankfulness  I  went  home  to  my  castle, 
and  began  to  be  much  easier  now,  as  to  the  safety  of  my  cir- 
cumstances, than  ever  I  was  before;  for  I  observed  that  these 
wretches  never  came  to  this  island  in  search  of  what  they  could 
get;  perhaps  not  seeking,  not  wanting,  or  not  expecting,  any- 
thing here;  and  having  often,  no  doubt,  been  up  in  the  cov- 

[218] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

ered,  woody  part  of  it,  without  finding  anything  to  their  pur- 
pose. I  knew  I  had  been  here  now  almost  eighteen  years, 
and  never  saw  the  least  footsteps  of  human  creature  there  be- 
fore ;  and  I  might  be  here  eighteen  more  as  entirely  concealed 
as  I  was  now,  if  I  did  not  discover  myself  to  them,  which  I 
had  no  manner  of  occasion  to  do;  it  being  my  only  business 
to  keep  myself  entirely  concealed  where  I  was,  unless  I  found 
a  better  sort  of  creatures  than  cannibals  to  make  myself  known 
to. 

Yet  I  entertained  such  an  abhorrence  of  the  savage  wretches 
that  I  have  been  speaking  of,  and  of  the  wretched,  inhuman 
custom  of  their  devouring  and  eating  one  another  up,  that  I 
continued  pensive  and  sad,  and  kept  close  within  my  own  circle 
for  almost  two  years  after  this.  When  I  say  my  own  circle, 
I  mean  by  it  my  three  plantations,  viz.,  my  castle,  my  country 
seat,  which  I  called  my  bower,  and  my  enclosure  in  the  woods. 
Nor  did  I  look  after  this  for  any  other  use  than  as  an  enclosure 
for  my  goats ;  for  the  aversion  which  Nature  gave  me  to  these 
hellish  wretches  was  such,  that  I  was  fearful  of  seeing  them  as 
of  seeing  the  devil  himself.  Nor  did  I  so  much  as  go  to  look 
after  my  boat  in  all  this  time,  but  began  rather  to  think  of 
making  me  another ;  for  I  could  not  think  of  ever  making  any 
more  attempts  to  bring  the  other  boat  round  the  island  to  me, 
lest  I  should  meet  with  some  of  these  creatures  at  sea,  in 
which,  if  I  had  happened  to  have  fallen  into  their  hands,  I 
knew  what  would  have  been  my  lot. 

Time,  however,  and  the  satisfaction  I  had  that  I  was  in  no 
danger  of  being  discovered  by  these  people,  began  to  wear  off 

[219] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

my  uneasiness  about  them;  and  I  began  to  live  just  in  the  same 
composed  manner  as  before;  only  with  this  difference,  that  I 
used  more  caution,  and  kept  my  eyes  more  about  me,  than  I 
did  before,  lest  I  should  happen  to  be  seen  by  any  of  them; 
and  particularly,  I  was  more  cautious  of  firing  my  gun,  lest  any 
of  them  being  on  the  island  should  happen  to  hear  of  it.  And 
it  was,  therefore,  a  very  good  providence  to  me  that  I  had 
furnished  myself  with  a  tame  breed  of  goats,  that  I  needed  not 
hunt  any  more  about  the  woods,  or  shoot  at  them.  And  if  I 
did  catch  any  of  them  after  this,  it  was  by  traps  and  snares, 
as  I  had  done  before;  so  that  for  two  years  after  this  I  be- 
lieve I  never  fired  my  gun  once  off,  though  I  never  went  out 
without  it;  and,  which  was  more,  as  I  had  saved  three  pistols 
out  of  the  ship,  I  always  carried  them  out  with  me,  or  at  least 
two  of  them,  sticking  them  in  my  goat-skin  belt.  Also  I 
furbished  up  one  of  the  great  cutlasses  that  I  had  out  of  the 
ship,  and  made  me  a  belt  to  put  it  on  also;  so  that  I  was  now 
a  most  formidable  fellow  to  look  at  when  I  went  abroad,  if  you 
add  to  the  former  description  of  myself  the  particular  of  two 
pistols,  and  a  great  broadsword  hanging  at  my  side  in  a  belt, 
but  without  a  scabbard. 

Things  going  on  thus,  as  I  have  said,  for  some  time,  I 
seemed,  excepting  these  cautions,  to  be  reduced  to  my  former 
calm,  sedate  way  of  living.  All  these  things  tended  to  showing 
me,  more  and  more,  how  far  my  condition  was  from  being 
miserable,  compared  to  some  others;  nay,  to  many  other  par- 
ticulars of  life,  which  it  might  have  pleased  God  to  have  made 
my  lot.     It  put  me  upon  reflecting  how  little  repining  there 

[220] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

would  be  among  mankind  at  any  condition  of  life,  if  people 
would  rather  compare  their  condition  with  those  that  are  worse, 
in  order  to  be  thankful,  than  be  always  comparing  them  with 
those  which  are  better,  to  assist  their  murmurings  and  com- 
plainings. 

As  in  my  present  condition  there  were  not  really  many 
things  which  I  wanted,  so  indeed  I  thought  that  the  frights 
I  had  been  in  about  these  savage  wretches,  and  the  concern  I 
had  been  in  for  my  own  preservation,  had  taken  off  the  edge  of 
my  invention  for  my  own  conveniences.     And  I  had  dropped 
a  good  design,  which  I  had  once  bent  my  thoughts  too  much 
upon;  and  that  was,  to  try  if  I  could  not  make  some  of  my 
barley  into  malt,  and  then  try  to  brew  myself  some  beer.     This 
was  really  a  whimsical  thought,  and  I  reproved  myself  often 
for  the  simplicity  of  it ;  for  I  presently  saw  there  would  be  the 
want  of  several  things  necessary  to  the  making  my  beer,  that 
it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  supply.     As,  first,  casks  to 
preserve  it  in,  which  was  a  thing  that,  as  I  have  observed  al- 
ready, I  could  never  compass;  no,  though  I  spent  not  many 
days,  but  weeks,  nay,  months,  in  attempting  it,  but  to  no  pur- 
pose.    In  the  next  place,  I  had  no  hops  to  make  it  keep,  no 
yeast  to  make  it  work,  no  copper  or  kettle  to  make  it  boil ;  and 
yet  all  these  things  notwithstanding,  I  verily  believe,  had  not 
these  things  intervened,  I  mean  the  frights  and  terrors  I  was 
in  about  the  savages,  I  had  undertaken  it,  and  perhaps  brought 
it  to  pass  too;  for  I  seldom  gave  anything  over  without  ac- 
complishing it  when  I  once  had  it  in  my  head  enough  to 
begin  it. 

[221] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

By  my  invention  now  ran  quite  another  way;  for,  night 
and  day,  I  could  think  of  nothing  but  how  I  might  destroy 
some  of  these  monsters  in  their  cruel,  bloody  entertainment, 
and,  if  possible,  save  the  victim  they  should  bring  hither  to 
destroy.  It  would  take  up  a  larger  volume  than  this  whole 
work  is  intended  to  be,  to  set  down  all  the  contrivances  I 
hatched,  or  rather  brooded  upon,  in  my  thought,  for  the  de- 
stroying these  creatures,  or  at  least  frightening  them  so  as  to 
prevent  their  coming  hither  any  more.  But  all  was  abortive; 
nothing  could  be  possible  to  take  effect,  unless  I  was  to  be 
there  to  do  it  myself.  And  what  could  one  man  do  among 
them,  when  perhaps  there  might  be  twenty  or  thirty  of  them 
together,  with  their  darts,  or  their  bows  and  arrows,  which 
they  could  shoot  as  true  to  a  mark  as  I  could  with  my  gun? 

Sometimes  I  contrived  to  dig  a  hole  under  the  place  where 
they  made  their  fire,  and  put  in  five  or  six  pounds  of  gun- 
powder, which,  when  they  kindled  their  fire,  would  consequently 
take  fire,  and  blow  up  all  that  was  near  it.  But  as,  in  the 
first  place,  I  should  be  very  loth  to  waste  so  much  powder 
upon  them,  my  store  being  now  within  the  quantity  of  one 
barrel,  so  neither  could  I  be  sure  of  its  going  off  at  any  certain 
time,  when  it  might  surprise  them;  and,  at  best,  that  it  would 
do  little  more  than  just  blow  the  fire  about  their  ears,  and 
frighten  them,  but  not  sufficient  to  make  them  forsake  the 
place.  So  I  laid  it  aside,  and  then  proposed  that  I  would  place 
myself  in  ambush  in  some  convenient  place,  with  my  three  guns 
all  double-loaded,  and,  in  the  middle  of  their  bloody  ceremony, 
let  fly  at  them,  when  I  should  be  sure  to  kill  or  wound  perhaps 

[222] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

two  or  three  at  every  shot ;  and  then  falling  in  upon  them  with 
my  three  pistols  and  my  sword,  I  made  no  doubt  but  that 
if  there  was  twenty  I  should  kill  them  all.  This  fancy  pleased 
my  thoughts  for  some  weeks;  and  I  was  so  full  of  it,  that  I 
often  dreamed  of  it,  and  sometimes  that  I  was  just  going  to 
let  fly  at  them  in  my  sleep. 

I  went  so  far  with  it  in  my  imagination,  that  I  employed 
myself  several  days  to  find  out  proper  places  to  put  myself  in 
ambuscade,  as  I  said,  to  watch  for  them;  and  I  went  fre- 
quently to  the  place  itself,  which  was  now  grown  more  familiar 
to  me;  and  especially  while  my  mind  was  thus  filled  with 
thoughts  of  revenge,  and  of  a  bloody  putting  twenty  or  thirty 
of  them  to  the  sword,  as  I  may  call  it,  the  horror  I  had  at  the 
place,  and  at  the  signals  of  the  barbarous  wretches  devouring 
one  another,  abated  my  malice. 

Well,  at  length  I  found  a  place  in  the  side  of  the  hill,  where 
I  was  satisfied  I  might  securely  wait  till  I  saw  any  of  their 
boats  coming;  and  might  then,  even  before  they  would  be 
ready  to  come  on  shore,  convey  myself,  unseen,  into  thickets 
of  trees,  in  one  of  which  there  was  a  hollow  large  enough  to 
conceal  me  entirely;  and  where  I  might  sit  and  observe  all 
their  bloody  doings,  and  take  my  full  aim  at  their  heads,  when 
they  were  so  close  together,  as  that  it  would  be  next  to  im- 
possible that  I  should  miss  my  shot,  or  that  I  could  fail  wound- 
ing three  or  f our  of  them  at  the  first  shot. 

In  this  place,  then,  I  resolved  to  fix  my  design;  and,  ac- 
cordingly, I  prepared  two  muskets  and  my  ordinary  fowling- 
piece.     The  two  muskets  I  loaded  with  a  brace  of  slugs  each, 

[223] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

and  four  or  five  smaller  bullets,  about  the  size  of  pistol-bullets ; 
and  the  fowling-piece  I  loaded  with  near  a  handful  of  swan- 
shot,  of  the  largest  size.  I  also  loaded  my  pistols  with  about 
four  bullets  each;  and  in  this  posture,  well  provided  with  am- 
munition for  a  second  and  third  charge,  I  prepared  myself  for 
my  expedition. 

After  I  had  thus  laid  the  scheme  of  my  design,  and  in  my 
imagination  put  it  in  practice,  I  continually  made  my  tour 
every  morning  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  which  was  from  my 
castle,  as  I  called  it,  about  three  miles,  or  more,  to  see  if  I 
could  observe  any  boats  upon  the  sea  coming  near  the  island,  or 
standing  over  towards  it.  But  I  began  to  tire  of  this  hard 
duty,  after  I  had,  for  two  or  three  months,  constantly  kept 
my  watch,  but  came  always  back  without  any  discovery ;  there 
having  not,  in  all  that  time,  been  the  least  appearance,  not  only 
on  or  near  the  shore,  but  not  on  the  whole  ocean  so  far  as  my 
eyes  or  glasses  could  reach  every  way. 

As  long  as  I  kept  up  my  daily  tour  to  the  hill  to  look  out, 
so  long  also  I  kept  up  the  vigor  of  my  design,  and  my  spirits 
seemed  to  be  all  the  while  in  a  suitable  form  for  so  outrageous 
an  execution  as  the  killing  twenty  or  thirty  naked  savages  for 
an  offence  which  I  had  not  at  all  entered  into  a  discussion  of  in 
my  thoughts,  any  farther  than  my  passions  were  at  first  fired 
by  the  horror  I  conceived  at  the  unnatural  custom  of  that 
people  of  the  country;  who,  it  seems,  had  been  suffered  by 
Providence,  in  His  wise  disposition  of  the  world,  to  have  no 
other  guide  than  that  of  their  own  abominable  and  vitiated 
passions;  and  consequently  were  left,  and  perhaps  had  been  so 

[2241 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

for  some  ages,  to  act  such  horrid  things,  and  receive  such  dread- 
ful customs,  as  nothing  but  nature  entirely  abandoned  of 
Heaven,  and  acted  by  some  hellish  degeneracy,  could  have  run 
them  into.  But  now  when,  as  I  have  said,  I  began  to  be 
weary  of  the  fruitless  excursion  which  I  had  made  so  long  and 
so  far  every  morning  in  vain,  so  my  opinion  of  the  action  it- 
self began  to  alter;  and  I  began,  with  cooler  and  calmer 
thoughts,  to  consider  what  it  was  I  was  going  to  engage  in. 

What  authority  or  call  I  had  to  pretend  to  be  judge  and 
executioner  upon  these  men  as  criminals,  whom  Heaven  had 
thought  fit,  for  so  many  ages,  to  suffer,  unpunished,  to  go  on, 
and  to  be,  as  it  were,  the  executioners  of  His  judgments  one 
upon  another?  How  far  these  people  were  offenders  against 
me,  and  what  right  I  had  to  engage  in  the  quarrel  of  that  blood 
which  they  shed  promiscuously  one  upon  another?  I  debated 
this  very  often  with  myself,  thus :  How  do  I  know  what  God 
Himself  judges  in  this  particular  case?  It  is  certain  these 
people  either  do  not  commit  this  as  a  crime;  it  is  not  against 
their  own  consciences'  reproving,  or  their  light  reproaching 
them.  They  do  not  know  it  to  be  an  offense,  and  then  commit 
it  in  defiance  of  Divine  justice,  as  we  do  in  almost  all  the  sins 
we  commit.  They  think  it  no  more  a  crime  to  kill  a  captive 
taken  in  war,  than  we  do  to  kill  an  ox ;  nor  to  eat  human  flesh, 
than  we  do  to  eat  mutton. 

When  I  had  considered  this  a  little,  it  followed  necessarily 
that  I  was  certainly  in  the  wrong  in  it ;  that  these  people  were 
not  murderers  in  the  sense  that  I  had  before  condemned  them 
in  my  thoughts,  any  more  than  those  Christians  were  murderers 

[225] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

who  often  put  to  death  the  prisoners  taken  in  battle;  or  more 
frequently,  upon  many  occasions,  put  whole  troops  of  men  to 
the  sword,  without  giving  quarter,  though  they  threw  down 
their  arms  and  submitted. 

In  the  next  place  it  occurred  to  me,  that  albeit  the  usage 
they  thus  gave  one  another  was  thus  brutish  and  inhuman, 
yet  it  was  really  nothing  to  me;  these  people  had  done  me  no 
injury.  That  if  they  attempted  me,  or  I  saw  it  necessary  for 
my  immediate  preservation  to  fall  upon  them,  something  might 
be  said  for  it;  but  that  as  I  was  yet  out  of  their  power,  and 
they  had  really  no  knowledge  of  me,  and  consequently  no 
design  upon  me,  and  therefore  it  could  not  be  just  for  me 
to  fall  upon  them.  That  this  would  justify  the  conduct  of 
the  Spaniards  in  all  their  barbarities  practised  in  America,  and 
where  they  destroyed  millions  of  these  people;  who,  however 
they  were  idolaters  and  barbarians,  and  had  several  bloody 
and  barbarous  rites  in  their  customs,  such  as  sacrificing  human 
bodies  to  their  idols,  were  yet,  as  to  the  Spaniards,  very  inno- 
cent people;  and  that  the  rooting  them  out  of  the  country  is 
spoken  of  with  the  utmost  abhorrence  and  detestation  by  even 
the  Spaniards  themselves  at  this  time,  and  by  all  other  Chris- 
tian nations  of  Europe,  as  a  mere  butchery,  a  bloody  and  un- 
natural piece  of  cruelty,  unjustifiable  either  to  God  or  man; 
and  such,  as  for  which  the  very  name  of  a  Spaniard  is  reckoned 
to  be  frightful  and  terrible  to  all  people  of  humanity,  or  of 
Christian  compassion;  as  if  the  kingdom  of  Spain  were  par- 
ticularly eminent  for  the  product  of  a  race  of  men  who  were 
without  principles  of  tenderness,  or  the  common  bowels  of 

[226] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

pity  to  the  miserable,  which  is  reckoned  to  be  a  mark  of  gener- 
ous temper  in  the  mind. 

These  considerations  really  put  me  to  a  pause,  and  to 
a  kind  of  a  full  stop ;  and  I  began,  by  little  and  little,  to  be  off 
of  my  design,  and  to  conclude  I  had  taken  wrong  measures 
in  my  resolutions  to  attack  the  savages;  that  it  was  not  my 
business  to  meddle  with  them,  unless  they  first  attacked  me; 
and  this  it  was  my  business,  if  possible,  to  prevent;  but  that 
if  I  were  discovered  and  attacked,  then  I  knew  my  duty. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  argued  with  myself  that  this  really 
was  the  way  not  to  deliver  myself,  but  entirely  to  ruin  and 
destroy  myself;  for  unless  I  was  sure  to  kill  every  one  that 
not  only  should  be  on  shore  at  that  time,  but  that  should  ever 
come  on  shore  afterwards,  if  but  one  of  them  escaped  to  tell 
their  country  people  what  had  happened,  they  would  come 
over  again  by  thousands  to  revenge  the  death  of  their  fellows, 
and  I  should  only  bring  upon  myself  a  certain  destruction, 
which,  at  present,  I  had  no  manner  of  occasion  for. 

Upon  the  whole,  I  concluded  that  neither  in  principles  nor 
in  policy  I  ought,  one  way  or  other,  to  concern  myself  in  this 
affair.  That  my  business  was,  by  all  possible  means,  to  con- 
ceal myself  from  them,  and  not  to  leave  the  least  signal  to 
them  to  guess  by  that  there  were  any  living  creatures  upon 
the  island;  I  mean  of  human  shape. 

Religion  joined  in  with  this  prudential,  and  I  was  convinced 
now,  many  ways,  that  I  was  perfectly  out  of  my  duty  when  I 
was  laying  all  my  bloody  schemes  for  the  destruction  of  inno- 
cent creatures;  I  mean  innocent  as  to  me.     As  to  the  crimes 

[227] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

they  were  guilty  of  towards  one  another,  I  had  nothing  to  do 
with  them.  They  were  national,  and  I  ought  to  leave  them  to 
the  justice  of  God,  who  is  the  Governor  of  nations,  and  knows 
how,  by  national  punishments,  to  make  a  just  retribution  for 
national  offenses,  and  to  bring  public  judgments  upon  those 
who  offend  in  a  public  manner  by  such  ways  as  best  pleases 
Him. 

This  appeared  so  clear  to  me  now,  that  nothing  was  a 
greater  satisfaction  to  me  than  that  I  had  not  been  suffered 
to  do  a  thing  which  I  now  saw  so  much  reason  to  believe  would 
have  been  no  less  a  sin  than  that  of  wilful  murder,  if  I  had 
committed  it.  And  I  gave  most  humble  thanks  on  my  knees 
to  God,  that  had  thus  delivered  me  from  blood-guiltiness;  be- 
seeching Him  to  grant  me  the  protection  of  His  providence, 
that  I  might  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  barbarians,  or  that 
I  might  not  lay  my  hands  upon  them,  unless  I  had  a  more  clear 
call  from  Heaven  to  do  it,  in  defense  of  my  own  life. 


[228] 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Robinson  Discovers  a  Cave,  which  Serves  Him  as  a  Retreat 
Against  the  Savages 

IN  this  disposition  I  continued  for  near  a  year  after  this; 
and  so  far  was  I  from  desiring  an  occasion  for  falling  upon 
these  wretches,  that  in  all  that  time  I  never  once  went  up 
the  hill  to  see  whether  there  were  any  of  them  in  sight,  or  to 
know  whether  any  of  them  had  been  on  shore  there  or  not,  that 
I  might  not  be  tempted  to  renew  any  of  my  contrivances 
against  them,  or  be  provoked,  by  any  advantage  which  might 
present  itself,  to  fall  upon  them.  Only  this  I  did,  I  went 
and  removed  my  boat,  which  I  had  on  the  other  side  the  island, 
and  carried  it  down  to  the  east  end  of  the  whole  island,  where 
I  ran  it  into  a  little  cove,  which  I  found  under  some  high 
rocks,  and  where  I  knew,  by  reason  of  the  currents,  the  sav- 
ages durst  not,  at  least  would  not  come,  with  their  boats,  upon 
any  account  whatsoever. 

With  my  boat  I  carried  away  everything  that  I  had  left 
there  belonging  to  her,  though  not  necessary  for  the  bare  go- 
ing thither,  viz.,  a  mast  and  sail  which  I  had  made  for  her, 
and  a  thing  like  an  anchor,  but  indeed  which  could  not  be 
called  either  anchor  or  grappling;  however,  it  was  the  best  I 
could  make  of  its  kind.  All  these  I  removed,  that  there  might 
not  be  the  least  shadow  of  any  discovery,  or  any  appearance 

[229] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

of  any  boat,  or  of  any  human  habitation,  upon  the  island. 

Besides  this,  I  kept  myself,  as  I  said,  more  retired  than 
ever,  and  seldom  went  from  my  cell,  other  than  upon  my  con- 
stant employment,  viz.,  to  milk  my  she-goats,  and  manage  my 
little  flock  in  the  wood,  which,  as  it  was  quite  on  the  other  part 
of  the  island,  was  quite  out  of  danger;  for  certain  it  is,  that 
these  savage  people,  who  sometimes  haunted  this  island,  never 
came  with  any  thoughts  of  finding  anything  here,  and  con- 
sequently never  wandered  off  from  the  coast;  and  I  doubt 
not  but  they  might  have  been  several  times  on  shore  after  my 
apprehensions  of  them  had  made  me  cautious,  as  well  as  before; 
and  indeed,  I  looked  back  with  some  horror  upon  the  thoughts 
of  what  my  condition  would  have  been  if  I  had  chopped  upon 
them  and  been  discovered  before  that,  when,  naked  and  un- 
armed, except  with  one  gun,  and  that  loaded  often  only  with 
small  shot,  I  walked  everywhere,  peeping  and  peeping  about 
the  island  to  see  what  I  could  get.  What  a  surprise  should 
I  have  been  in  if,  when  I  discovered  the  print  of  a  man's  foot, 
I  had,  instead  of  that,  seen  fifteen  or  twenty  savages,  and 
found  them  pursuing  me,  and  by  the  swiftness  of  their  running, 
no  possibility  of  my  escaping  them! 

The  thoughts  of  this  sometimes  sunk  my  very  soul  within 
me,  and  distressed  my  mind  so  much,  that  I  could  not  soon 
recover  it,  to  think  what  I  should  have  done,  and  how  I  not 
only  should  not  have  been  able  to  resist  them,  but  even  should 
not  have  had  presence  of  mind  enough  to  do  what  I  might 
have  done,  much  less  what  now,  after  so  much  consideration 
and  preparation,  I  might  be  able  to  do.     Indeed,  after  serious 

[230] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

thinking  of  these  things,  I  should  be  very  melancholy,  and 
sometimes  it  would  last  a  great  while;  but  I  resolved  it,  at  last, 
all  into  thankfulness  to  that  Providence  which  had  delivered 
me  from  so  many  unseen  dangers,  and  had  kept  me  from  those 
mischiefs  which  I  could  no  way  have  been  the  agent  in  de- 
livering myself  from,  because  I  had  not  the  least  notion  of 
any  such  thing  depending,  or  the  least  supposition  of  it  beang 
possible. 

This  renewed  a  contemplation  which  often  had  come  to 
my  thoughts  in  former  time,  when  first  I  began  to  see  the 
merciful  dispositions  of  Heaven,  in  the  dangers  we  run  through 
in  this  life.  How  wonderfully  we  are  delivered  when  we  know 
nothing  of  it.  How,  when  we  are  in  a  quandary,  as  we  call  it. 
a  doubt  or  hesitation,  whether  to  go  this  way,  or  that  way,  a 
secret  hint  shall  direct  us  this  way,  when  we  intended  to  go 
that  way;  nay,  when  sense,  our  own  inclination,  and  perhaps 
business,  has  called  to  go  the  other  way,  yet  a  strange  impres- 
sion upon  the  mind,  from  we  know  not  what  springs,  and  by 
we  know  not  what  power,  shall  overrule  us  to  go  this  way ;  and 
it  shall  afterwards  appear,  that  had  we  gone  that  way  which 
we  should  have  gone,  and  even  to  our  imagination  ought  to 
have  gone,  we  should  have  been  ruined  and  lost.  Upon  these 
and  many  like  reflections  I  afterwards  made  it  a  certain  rule 
with  me,  that  whenever  I  found  those  secret  hints  or  pressings 
of  my  mind  to  doing,  or  not  doing,  anything  that  presented, 
or  to  going  this  way  or  that  way,  I  never  failed  to  obey  the 
secret  dictate,  though  I  knew  no  other  reason  for  it  than  that 
such  a  pressure,  or  such  a  hint,  hung  upon  my  mind.     I  could 

[231] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

give  many  examples  of  the  success  of  this  conduct  in  the  course 
of  my  life,  but  more  especially  in  the  latter  part  of  my  inhabit- 
ing this  unhappy  island;  besides  many  occasions  which  it  is 
very  likely  I  might  have  taken  notice  of,  if  I  had  seen  with 
the  same  eyes  then  that  I  saw  with  now.  But  'tis  never  too 
late  to  be  wise;  and  I  cannot  but  advise  all  considering  men, 
whose  lives  are  attended  with  such  extraordinary  incidents  as 
mine,  or  even  though  not  so  extraordinary,  not  to  slight  such 
secret  intimations  of  Providence,  let  them  come  from  what 
invisible  intelligence  they  will.  That  I  shall  not  discuss,  and 
perhaps  cannot  account  for;  but  certainly  they  are  a  proof  of 
the  converse  of  spirits,  and  the  secret  communication  between 
those  embodied  and  those  unembodied,  and  such  a  proof  as  can 
never  be  withstood,  of  which  I  shall  have  occasion  to  give  some 
very  remarkable  instances  in  the  remainder  of  my  solitary  resi- 
dence in  this  dismal  place. 

I  believe  the  reader  of  this  will  not  think  strange  if  I  con- 
fess that  these  anxieties,  these  constant  dangers  I  lived  in,  and 
the  concern  that  was  now  upon  me,  put  an  end  to  all  invention, 
and  to  all  the  contrivances  that  I  had  laid  for  my  future  ac- 
commodations and  conveniences.  I  had  the  care  of  my  safety 
more  now  upon  my  hands  than  that  of  my  food.  I  cared  not 
to  drive  a  nail,  or  chop  a  stick  of  wood  now,  for  fear  the  noise 
I  should  make  should  be  heard ;  much  less  would  I  fire  a  gun, 
for  the  same  reason;  and,  above  all,  I  was  intolerably  uneasy 
at  making  any  fire,  lest  the  smoke,  which  is  visible  at  a  great 
distance  in  the  day,  should  betray  me;  and  for  this  reason  I  re- 
moved that  part  of  my  business  which  required  fire,  such  as 

[232] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

burning  of  pots  and  pipes,  etc.,  into  my  new  apartment  in  the 
woods ;  where,  after  I  had  been  some  time,  I  found,  to  my  un- 
speakable consolation,  a  mere  natural  cave  in  the  earth,  which 
went  in  a  vast  way,  and  where,  I  dare  say,  no  savage,  had  he 
been  at  the  mouth  of  it,  would  be  so  hardy  as  to  venture  in; 
nor,  indeed,  would  any  man  else,  but  one  who,  like  me,  wanted 
nothing  so  much  as  a  safe  retreat. 

The  mouth  of  this  hollow  was  at  the  bottom  of  a  great 
rock,  where,  by  mere  accident  I  would  say  (if  I  did  not  see 
abundant  reason  to  ascribe  all  such  things  now  to  Providence) , 
I  was  cutting  down  some  thick  branches  of  trees  to  make  char- 
coal; and  before  I  go  on,  I  must  observe  the  reason  of  my 
making  this  charcoal,  which  was  thus. 

I  was  afraid  of  making  a  smoke  about  my  habitation,  as 
I  said  before ;  and  yet  I  could  not  live  there  without  baking  my 
bread,  cooking  my  meat,  etc.  So  I  contrived  to  burn  some 
wood  here,  as  I  had  seen  done  in  England  under  turf,  till  it 
became  chark,  or  dry  coal;  and  then  putting  the  fire  out,  I 
preserved  the  coal  to  carry  home,  and  perform  the  other  services 
which  fire  was  wanting  for  at  home,  without  danger  of  smoke. 

But  this  is  by  the  bye.  While  I  was  cutting  down  some 
wood  here,  I  perceived  that  behind  a  very  thick  branch  of  low 
brushwood,  or  underwood,  there  was  a  kind  of  hollow  place.  I 
was  curious  to  look  into  it ;  and  getting  with  difficulty-  into  the 
mouth  of  it,  I  found  it  was  pretty  large;  that  is  to  say,  suffi- 
cient for  me  to  stand  upright  in  it,  and  perhaps  another  with 
me.  But  I  must  confess  to  you  I  made  more  haste  out  than  I 
did  in  when,  looking  farther  into  the  place,  and  which  was 

[233] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

perfectly  dark,  I  saw  two  broad  shining  eyes  of  some  creature, 
whether  devil  or  man  I  knew  not,  which  twinkled  like  two 
stars,  the  dim  light  from  the  cave's  mouth  shining  directly  in, 
and  making  the  reflection. 

However,  after  some  pause  I  recovered  myself,  and  be- 
gan to  call  myself  a  thousand  fools,  and  tell  myself  that  he 
that  was  afraid  to  see  the  devil  was  not  fit  to  live  twenty  years 
on  an  island  all  alone,  and  that  I  durst  to  believe  there  was 
nothing  in  this  cave  that  was  more  frightful  than  myself. 
Upon  this,  plucking  up  my  courage,  I  took  up  a  great  fire- 
brand, and  in  I  rushed  again,  with  the  stick  flaming  in  my 
hand.  I  had  not  gone  three  steps  in,  but  I  was  almost  as 
much  frightened  as  I  was  before;  for  I  heard  a  very  loud  sigh, 
like  that  of  a  man  in  some  pain,  and  it  was  followed  by  a 
broken  noise,  as  if  of  words  half  expressed,  and  then  a  deep 
sigh  again.  I  stepped  back,  and  was  indeed  struck  with  such 
a  surprise,  that  it  put  me  into  a  cold  sweat;  and  if  I  had  had 
a  hat  on  my  head,  I  will  not  answer  for  it,  that  my  hair  might 
not  have  lifted  it  off.  But  still  plucking  up  my  spirits  as  well 
as  I  could,  and  encouraging  myself  a  little  with  considering 
that  the  power  and  presence  of  God  was  everywhere,  and  was 
able  to  protect  me,  upon  this  I  stepped  forward  again,  and  by 
the  light  of  the  firebrand,  holding  it  up  a  little  over  my  head,  I 
saw  lying  on  the  ground  a  most  monstrous,  frightful,  old  he- 
goat,  just  making  his  will,  as  we  say,  and  gasping  for  life; 
and  dying,  indeed,  of  mere  old  age. 

I  stirred  him  a  little  to  see  if  I  could  get  him  out,  and  he 
essayed  to  get  up,  but  was  not  able  to  raise  himself;  and  I 

[234J 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

thought  with  myself  he  might  even  lie  there ;  for  if  he  had  fright- 
ened me  so,  he  would  certainly  frighten  any  of  the  savages, 
if  any  of  them  should  be  so  hardy  as  to  come  in  there  while  he 
had  any  life  in  him. 

I  was  now  recovered  from  my  surprise,  and  began  to  look 
around  me,  when  I  found  the  cave  was  but  very  small;  that  is 
to  say,  it  might  be  about  twelve  feet  over,  but  in  no  manner  of 
shape,  either  round  or  square,  no  hands  having  ever  been  em- 
ployed in  making  it  but  those  of  mere  Nature.  I  observed 
also  that  there  was  a  place  at  the  farther  side  of  it  that  went 
in  farther,  but  was  so  low,  that  it  required  me  to  creep  upon 
my  hands  and  knees  to  go  into  it,  and  whither  I  went  I  knew 
not;  so  having  no  candle,  I  gave  it  over  for  some  time,  but 
resolved  to  come  again  the  next  day,  provided  with  candles  and 
a  tinderbox,  which  I  had  made  of  the  lock  of  one  of  the  muskets, 
with  some  wild-fire  in  the  pan. 

Accordingly,  the  next  day  I  came  provided  with  six  large 
candles  of  my  own  making,  for  I  made  very  good  candles 
now  of  goat's  tallow;  and  going  into  this  low  place,  I  was 
obliged  to  creep  upon  all  fours,  as  I  have  said,  almost  ten 
yards ;  which,  by  the  way,  I  thought  was  a  venture  bold  enough, 
considering  that  I  knew  not  how  far  it  might  go,  nor  what  was 
beyond  it.  When  I  was  got  through  the  strait,  I  found  the 
roof  rose  higher  up,  I  believe  near  twenty  feet.  But  never 
was  such  a  glorious  sight  seen  in  the  island,  I  dare  say,  as  it 
was,  to  look  round  the  sides  and  roof  of  this  vault  or  cave; 
the  walls  reflected  a  hundred  thousand  lights  to  me  from  my 
two  candles.     What  it  was  in  the  rock,  whether  diamonds. 

[235] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

or  any  other  precious  stones,  or  gold,  which  I  rather  supposed 
it  to  be,  I  knew  not. 

The  place  I  was  in  was  a  most  delightful  cavity  or  grotto 
of  its  kind,  as  could  be  expected,  though  perfectly  dark.  The 
floor  was  dry  and  level,  and  had  a  sort  of  small  loose  gravel 
upon  it,  so  that  there  was  no  nauseous  or  venomous  creature 
to  be  seen;  neither  was  there  any  damp  or  wet  on  the  sides  or 
roof.  The  only  difficulty  in  it  was  the  entrance,  which,  how- 
ever, as  it  was  a  place  of  security,  and  such  a  retreat  as  I 
wanted,  I  thought  that  was  a  convenience ;  so  that  I  was  really 
rejoiced  at  the  discovery,  and  resolved,  without  any  delay,  to 
bring  some  of  those  things  which  I  was  most  anxious  about 
to  this  place;  particularly,  I  resolved  to  bring  hither  my 
magazine  of  powder,  and  all  my  spare  arms,  viz.,  two  fowling- 
pieces,  for  I  had  three  in  all,  and  three  muskets,  for  of  them 
I  had  eight  in  all.  So  I  kept  at  my  castle  only  five,  which 
stood  ready-mounted,  like  pieces  of  cannon,  on  my  outmost 
fence;  and  were  ready  also  to  take  out  upon  any  expedition. 

Upon  this  occasion  of  removing  my  ammunition,  I  took 
occasion  to  open  the  barrel  of  powder,  which  I  took  up  out  of 
the  sea,  and  which  had  been  wet;  and  I  found  that  the  water 
had  penetrated  about  three  or  four  inches  into  the  powder  on 
every  side,  which  caking,  and  growing  hard,  had  preserved  the 
inside  like  a  kernel  in  a  shell;  so  that  I  had  near  sixty  pounds 
of  very  good  powder  in  the  centre  of  the  cask.  And  this  was 
an  agreeable  discovery  to  me  at  that  time;  so  I  carried  all 
away  thither,  never  keeping  above  two  or  three  pounds  of 
powder  with  me  in  my  castle,  for  fear  of  a  surprise  of  any  kind. 

[236] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I   also   carried  thither   all  the   lead   I   had  left   for   bullets. 

I  fancied  myself  now  like  one  of  the  ancient  giants,  which 
were  said  to  live  in  caves  and  holes  in  the  rocks,  where  none 
could  come  at  them ;  for  I  persuaded  myself,  while  I  was  here, 
if  five  hundred  savages  were  to  hunt  me,  they  could  never 
find  me  out;  or,  if  they  did,  they  would  not  venture  to  attack 
me  here. 

The  old  goat,  whom  I  found  expiring,  died  in  the  mouth 
of  the  cave  the  next  day  after  I  made  this  discovery;  and  I 
found  it  much  easier  to  dig  a  great  hole  there,  and  throw  him  in 
and  cover  him  with  earth,  than  to  drag  him  out;  so  I  interred 
him  there,  to  prevent  offense  to  my  nose. 

I  was  now  in  my  twenty-third  year  of  residence  in  this 
island ;  and  was  so  naturalized  to  the  place,  and  to  the  manner 
of  living,  that  could  I  have  but  enjoyed  the  certainty  that  no 
savages  would  come  to  the  place  to  disturb  me,  I  could  have 
been  content  to  have  capitulated  for  spending  the  rest  of  my 
time  there,  even  to  the  last  moment,  till  I  laid  me  down  and 
died,  like  the  old  goat  in  the  cave.  I  had  also  arrived  to  some 
little  diversions  and  amusements,  which  made  the  time  pass 
more  pleasantly  with  me  a  great  deal  than  it  did  before.  As, 
first,  I  had  taught  my  Poll,  as  I  noted  before,  to  speak;  and 
he  did  it  so  familiarly,  and  talked  so  articulately  and  plain, 
that  it  was  very  pleasant  to  me;  and  he  lived  with  me  no  less 
than  six  and  twenty  years.  How  long  he  might  live  after- 
wards I  know  not,  though  I  know  they  have  a  notion  in  the 
Brazils  that  they  live  a  hundred  years.  Perhaps  poor  Poll  may 
be  alive  there  still,  calling  after  poor  Robin  Crusoe  to  this 

[237] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

day.  I  wish  no  Englishman  the  ill  luck  to  come  there  and 
hear  him;  but  if  he  did,  he  would  certainly  believe  it  was  the 
devil.  My  dog  was  a  very  pleasant  and  loving  companion 
to  me  for  no  less  than  sixteen  years  of  my  time,  and  then  died 
of  mere  old  age.  As  for  my  cats,  they  multiplied,  as  I  have 
observed,  to  that  degree,  that  I  was  obliged  to  shoot  several 
of  them  at  first  to  keep  them  from  devouring  me  and  all  I 
had;  but  at  length,  when  the  two  old  ones  I  brought  with  me 
were  gone,  and  after  some  time  continually  driving  them  from 
me,  and  letting  them  have  no  provision  with  me,  they  all  ran 
wild  into  the  woods,  except  two  or  three  favorites,  which  I 
kept  tame,  and  whose  young,  when  they  had  any,  I  always 
drowned ;  and  these  were  part  of  my  family.  Besides  these,  I 
always  kept  two  or  three  household  kids  about  me,  which  I 
taught  to  feed  out  of  my  hand.  And  I  had  two  more  parrots, 
which  talked  pretty  well,  and  would  all  call  "Robin  Crusoe," 
but  none  like  my  first;  nor,  indeed,  did  I  take  the  pains  with 
any  of  them  that  I  had  done  with  him.  I  had  also  several 
tame  sea-fowls,  whose  names  I  know  not,  which  I  caught  upon 
the  shore,  and  cut  their  wings ;  and  the  little  stakes  which  I  had 
planted  before  my  castle  wall  being  now  grown  up  to  a  good 
thick  grove,  these  fowls  all  lived  among  these  low  trees,  and 
bred  there,  which  was  very  agreeable  to  me;  so  that,  as  I  said 
above,  I  began  to  be  very  well  contented  with  the  life  I  led, 
if  it  might  but  have  been  secured  from  the  dread  of  the  sav- 
ages. 

But  it  was  otherwise  directed ;  and  it  may  not  be  amiss  for 
all  people  who  shall  meet  with  my  story,  to  make  this  just  ob- 

[238] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

servation  from  it,  viz.,  how  frequently,  in  the  course  of  our 
lives,  the  evil  which  in  itself  we  seek  most  to  shun,  and  which, 
when  we  are  fallen  into  it,  is  the  most  dreadful  to  us,  is  often- 
times the  very  means  or  door  of  our  deliverance,  by  which  alone 
we  can  be  raised  again  from  the  affliction  we  are  fallen  into. 
I  could  give  many  examples  of  this  in  the  course  of  my  unac- 
countable life;  but  in  nothing  was  it  more  particularly  re- 
markable, than  in  the  circumstances  of  my  last  years  of  solitary 
residence  in  this  island. 


[239] 


CHAPTER  XX 

Another  Visit  of  the  Savages — Robinson  Sees  Them  Dancing — He 
Perceives  the  Wreck  of  a  Vessel 

IT  was  now  the  month  of  December,  as  I  said  above,  in 
my  twenty-third  year;  and  this,  being  the  southern  solstice 
(for  winter  I  cannot  call  it),  was  the  particular  time 
of  my  harvest,  and  required  my  being  pretty  much  abroad  in 
the  fields;  when,  going  out  pretty  early  in  the  morning,  even 
before  it  was  thorough  daylight,  I  was  surprised  with  seeing 
a  light  of  some  fire  upon  the  shore,  at  a  distance  from  me  of 
about  two  miles,  towards  the  end  of  the  island,  where  I  had 
observed  some  savages  had  been,  as  before.  But  not  on  the 
other  side ;  but,  to  my  great  affliction,  it  was  on  my  side  of  the 
island. 

I  was  indeed  terribly  surprised  at  the  sight,  and  stopped 
short  within  my  grove,  not  daring  to  go  out,  lest  I  might  be 
surprised;  and  yet  I  had  no  more  peace  within,  from  the  ap- 
prehensions I  had  that  if  these  savages,  in  rambling  over  the 
island,  should  find  my  corn  standing  or  cut,  or  any  of  my  works 
and  improvements,  they  would  immediately  conclude  that  there 
were  people  in  the  place,  and  would  then  never  give  over  till 
they  had  found  me  out.  In  this  extremity  I  went  back  di- 
rectly to  my  castle,  pulled  up  the  ladder  after  me,  and  made 
all  things  without  look  as  wild  and  natural  as  I  could. 

[240] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

Then  I  prepared  myself  within,  putting  myself  in  a  posture 
of  defense.  I  loaded  all  my  cannon,  as  I  called  them,  that  is 
to  sajr,  my  muskets,  which  were  mounted  upon  my  new  forti- 
fication, and  all  my  pistols,  and  resolved  to  defend  myself  to  the 
last  gasp;  not  forgetting  seriously  to  commend  myself  to  the 
Divine  protection,  and  earnestly  to  pray  to  God  to  deliver  me 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  barbarians.  And  in  this  posture  I 
continued  about  two  hours ;  but  began  to  be  mighty  impatient 
for  intelligence  abroad,  for  I  had  no  spies  to  send  out. 

After  sitting  a  while  longer,  and  musing  what  I  should 
do  in  this  case,  I  was  not  able  to  bear  sitting  in  ignorance  any 
longer;  so  setting  up  my  ladder  to  the  side  of  the  hill  where 
there  was  a  flat  place,  as  I  observed  before,  and  then  pulling 
the  ladder  up  after  me,  I  set  it  up  again,  and  mounted  to 
the  top  of  the  hill ;  and  pulling  out  my  perspective-glass,  which 
I  had  taken  on  purpose,  I  laid  me  down  flat  on  my  belly  on 
the  ground,  and  began  to  look  for  the  place.  I  presently  found 
there  was  no  less  than  nine  naked  savages  sitting  round  a  small 
fire  they  had  made,  not  to  warm  them,  for  they  had  no  need 
of  that,  the  weather  being  extreme  hot,  but,  as  I  supposed,  to 
dress  some  of  their  barbarous  diet  of  human  flesh  which  they 
had  brought  with  them,  whether  alive  or  dead,  I  could  not 
know. 

They  had  two  canoes  with  them,  which  they  had  hauled  up 
upon  the  shore;  and  as  it  was  then  tide  of  ebb,  they  seemed 
to  me  to  wait  for  the  return  of  the  flood  to  go  away  again.  It 
is  not  easy  to  imagine  what  confusion  this  sight  put  me  into, 
especially  seeing  them  come  on  my  side  the  island,  and  so  near 

[241] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

me  too.  But  when  I  observed  their  coming  must  be  always 
with  the  current  of  the  ebb,  I  began  afterwards  to  be  more 
sedate  in  my  mind,  being  satisfied  that  I  might  go  abroad 
with  safety  all  the  time  of  the  tide  of  flood,  if  they  were  not 
on  shore  before;  and  having  made  this  observation,  I  went 
abroad  about  my  harvest-work  with  the  more  composure. 

As  I  expected,  so  it  proved;  for  as  soon  as  the  tide  made  to 
the  westward,  I  saw  them  all  take  boat,  and  row  (or  paddle,  as 
we  call  it)  all  away.  I  should  have  observed,  that  for  an  hour 
and  more  before  they  went  off,  they  went  to  dancing;  and  I 
could  easily  discern  their  postures  and  gestures  by  my  glasses. 
I  could  not  perceive,  by  my  nicest  observation,  but  that  they 
were  stark  naked,  and  had  not  the  least  covering  upon  them; 
but  whether  they  were  men  or  women,  that  I  could  not  dis- 
tinguish. 

As  soon  as  I  saw  them  shipped  and  gone,  I  took  two  guns 
upon  my  shoulders,  and  two  pistols  at  my  girdle,  and  my  great 
sword  by  my  side,  without  a  scabbard,  and  with  all  the  speed 
I  was  able  to  make  I  went  away  to  the  hill  where  I  had  dis- 
covered the  first  appearance  of  all.  And  as  soon  as  I  got 
thither,  which  was  not  less  than  two  hours  (for  I  could  not  go 
apace,  being  so  laden  with  arms  as  I  was),  I  perceived  there 
had  been  three  canoes  more  of  savages  on  that  place ;  and  look- 
ing out  farther,  I  saw  they  were  all  at  sea  together,  making 
over  for  the  main. 

This  was  a  dreadful  sight  to  me,  especially  when,  going 
down  to  the  shore,  I  could  see  the  marks  of  horror  which  the 
dismal  work  they  had  been  about  had  left  behind  it,  viz.,  the 

[242] 


©   C.    B     C. 

"  I  laid  me  down  flat  on  my  belly  on  the  ground,  and  began  to  look  for  the  place  " 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

blood,  the  bones,  and  part  of  the  flesh  of  human  bodies,  eaten 
and  devoured  by  those  wretches  with  merriment  and  sport, 
I  was  so  filled  with  indignation  at  the  sight,  that  I  began  now 
to  premeditate  the  destruction  of  the  next  that  I  saw  there, 
let  them  be  who  or  how  many  soever. 

It  seemed  evident  to  me  that  the  visits  which  they  thus  made 
to  this  island  were  not  very  frequent,  for  it  was  above  fifteen 
months  before  any  more  of  them  came  on  shore  there  again: 
that  is  to  say,  I  neither  saw  them,  nor  any  footsteps  nor  signals 
of  them,  in  all  that  time;  for,  as  to  the  rainy  seasons,  then  they 
are  sure  not  to  come  abroad,  at  least  not  so  far.  Yet  all 
this  while  I  lived  uncomfortably,  by  reason  of  the  constant  ap- 
prehensions I  was  in  of  their  coming  upon  me  by  surprise; 
from  whence  I  observe,  that  the  expectation  of  evil  is  more 
bitter  than  the  suffering,  especially  if  there  is  no  room  to  shake 
off  that  expectation,  or  those  apprehensions. 

During  all  this  time  I  was  in  a  murdering  humor,  and 
took  up  most  of  my  hours,  which  should  have  been  better  em- 
ployed, in  contriving  how  to  circumvent  and  fall  upon  them  the 
very  next  time  I  should  see  them;  especially  if  they  should 
be  divided,  as  they  were  the  last  time,  into  two  parties.  Nor 
did  I  consider  at  all  that  if  I  killed  one  party,  suppose  ten  or 
a  dozen,  I  was  still  the  next  day,  or  week,  or  month,  to  kill 
another,  and  so  another,  even  ad  infinitum,  till  I  should  be  at 
length  no  less  a  murderer  than  they  were  in  being  man-eaters, 
and  perhaps  much  more  so. 

I  spent  my  days  now  in  great  perplexity  and  anxiety  of 
mind,  expecting  that  I  should,  one  day  or  other,  fall  into  the 

[243] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

hands  of  these  merciless  creatures;  and  if  I  did  at  any  time 
venture  abroad,  it  was  not  without  looking  round  me  with  the 
greatest  care  and  caution  imaginable.  And  now  I  found,  to 
my  great  comfort,  how  happy  it  was  that  I  provided  for  a  tame 
flock  or  herd  of  goats;  for  I  durst  not,  upon  any  account,  fire 
my  gun,  especially  near  that  side  of  the  island  where  they 
usually  came,  lest  I  should  alarm  the  savages.  And  if  they 
had  fled  from  me  now,  I  was  sure  to  have  them  come  back 
again,  with  perhaps  two  or  three  hundred  canoes  with  them, 
in  a  few  da3^s,  and  then  I  knew  what  to  expect. 

However,  I  wore  out  a  year  and  three  months  more  before 
I  ever  saw  any  more  of  the  savages,  and  then  I  found  them 
again,  as  I  shall  soon  observe.  It  is  true  they  might  have  been 
there  once  or  twice,  but  either  they  made  no  stay,  or  at  least 
I  did  not  hear  them;  but  in  the  month  of  May,  as  near  as  I 
could  calculate,  and  in  my  four  and  twentieth  year,  I  had  a 
very  strange  encounter  with  them;  of  which  in  its  place. 

The  perturbation  of  my  mind,  during  this  fifteen  or  six- 
teen months'  interval,  was  very  great.  I  slept  unquiet, 
dreamed  always  frightful  dreams,  and  often  started  out  of  my 
sleep  in  the  night.  In  the  day  great  troubles  overwhelmed 
my  mind,  and  in  the  night  I  dreamed  often  of  killing  the  sav- 
ages, and  of  the  reasons  why  I  might  justify  the  doing  of  it. 
But,  to  waive  all  this  for  a  while,  it  was  in  the  middle  of  May, 
on  the  sixteenth  day,  I  think,  as  well  as  my  poor  wooden 
calendar  would  reckon,  for  I  marked  all  upon  the  post  still: 
I  say,  it  was  the  sixteenth  of  May  that  it  blew  a  very  great 
storm  of  wind  all  day,  with  a  great  deal  of  lightning  and  thun- 

[244] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

der,  and  a  very  foul  night  it  was  after  it.  I  know  not  what  was 
the  particular  occasion  of  it,  but  as  I  was  reading  in  the  Bible, 
and  taken  up  with  very  serious  thoughts  about  my  present  con- 
dition, I  was  surprised  with  a  noise  of  a  gun,  as  I  thought,  fired 
at  sea. 

This  was,  to  be  sure,  a  surprise  of  a  quite  different  nature 
from  any  I  had  met  with  before;  for  the  notions  this  put  into 
my  thoughts  were  quite  of  another  kind.  I  started  up  in  the 
greatest  haste  imaginable,  and,  in  a  trice,  clapped  my  ladder 
to  the  middle  place  of  the  rock,  and  pulled  it  after  me;  and 
mounting  it  the  second  time,  got  to  the  top  of  the  hill  the  very 
moment  that  flash  of  fire  bid  me  listen  for  a  second  gun,  which 
accordingly,  in  about  half  a  minute,  I  heard ;  and,  by  the  sound, 
knew  that  it  was  from  that  part  of  the  sea  where  I  was  driven 
down  the  current  in  my  boat. 

I  immediately  considered  that  this  must  be  some  ship  in 
distress,  and  that  they  had  some  comrade,  or  some  other  ship 
in  company,  and  fired  these  guns  for  signals  of  distress,  and 
to  obtain  help.  I  had  this  presence  of  mind,  at  that  minute,  as 
to  think  that  though  I  could  not  help  them,  it  may  be  they 
might  help  me ;  so  I  brought  together  all  the  dry  wood  I  could 
get  at  hand,  and,  making  a  good  handsome  pile,  I  set  it  on 
fire  upon  the  hill.  The  wood  was  dry,  and  blazed  freely ;  and 
though  the  wind  blew  very  hard,  yet  it  burnt  fairly  out;  so 
that  I  was  certain,  if  there  was  any  such  thing  as  a  ship,  they 
must  needs  see  it,  and  no  doubt  they  did;  for  as  soon  as  ever 
my  fire  blazed  up  I  heard  another  gun,  and  after  that  several 
others,  all  from  the  same  quarter.     I  plied  my  fire  all  night  long 

[245] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

till  day  broke ;  and  when  it  was  broad  day,  and  the  air  cleared 
up,  I  saw  something  at  a  great  distance  at  sea,  full  east  of  the 
island,  whether  a  sail  or  a  hull  I  could  not  distinguish,  no,  not 
with  my  glasses,  the  distance  was  so  great,  and  the  weather  still 
something  hazy  also ;  at  least  it  was  so  out  at  sea. 

I  looked  frequently  at  it  all  that  day,  and  soon  perceived 
that  it  did  not  move;  so  I  presently  concluded  that  it  was  a 
ship  at  an  anchor.  And  being  eager,  you  may  be  sure,  to  be 
satisfied,  I  took  my  gun  in  my  hand  and  ran  toward  the  south 
side  of  the  island,  to  the  rocks  where  I  had  formerly  been  car- 
ried away  with  the  current ;  and  getting  up  there,  the  weather 
by  this  time  being  perfectly  clear,  I  could  plainly  see,  to  my 
great  sorrow,  the  wreck  of  a  ship,  cast  away  in  the  night  upon 
those  concealed  rocks  which  I  found  when  I  was  out  in  my 
boat;  and  which  rocks,  as  they  checked  the  violence  of  the 
stream,  and  made  a  kind  of  counter-stream  or  eddy,  were  the 
occasion  of  my  recovering  from  the  most  desperate,  hopeless 
condition  that  ever  I  had  been  in  in  all  my  life. 

Thus,  what  is  one  man's  safety  is  another  man's  destruc- 
tion; for  it  seems  these  men,  whoever  they  were,  being  out  of 
their  knowledge,  and  the  rocks  being  wholly  under  water,  had 
been  driven  upon  them  in  the  night,  the  wind  blowing  hard  at 
E.  and  E.N.E.  Had  they  seen  the  island,  as  I  must  neces- 
sarily suppose  they  did  not,  they  must,  as  I  thought,  have 
endeavored  to  have  saved  themselves  on  shore  by  the  help  of 
their  boat;  but  their  firing  of  guns  for  help,  especially  when 
they  saw,  as  I  imagined,  my  fire,  filled  me  with  many  thoughts. 
First,  I  imagined  that  upon  seeing  my  light,  they  might  have 

[246] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

put  themselves  into  their  boat,  and  have  endeavored  to  make 
the  shore;  but  that  the  sea  going  very  high,  they  might  have 
been  cast  away.  Other  times  I  imagined  that  they  might  have 
lost  their  boat  before,  as  might  be  the  case  many  ways ;  as,  par- 
ticularly, by  the  breaking  of  the  sea  upon  their  ship,  which 
many  times  obliges  men  to  stave,  or  take  in  pieces  their  boat, 
and  sometimes  to  throw  it  overboard  with  their  own  hands. 

Other  times  I  imagined  they  had  some  other  ship  or  ships  in 
company,  who,  upon  the  signals  of  distress  they  had  made,  had 
taken  them  up  and  carried  them  off.  Other  times  I  fancied 
they  were  all  gone  off  to  sea  in  their  boat,  and  being  hurried 
away  by  the  current  that  I  had  been  formerly  in,  were  car- 
ried out  into  the  great  ocean,  where  there  was  nothing  but  mis- 
ery and  perishing;  and  that,  perhaps,  they  might  by  this  time 
think  of  starving,  and  of  being  in  a  condition  to  eat  one  an- 
other. 

As  all  these  were  but  conjectures  at  best,  so,  in  the  condi- 
tion I  was  in,  I  could  do  no  more  than  look  on  upon  the  misery 
of  the  poor  men,  and  pity  them ;  which  had  still  this  good  effect 
on  my  side,  that  it  gave  me  more  and  more  cause  to  give  thanks 
to  God,  who  had  so  happily  and  comfortably  provided  for  me 
in  my  desolate  condition;  and  that  of  two  ships'  companies  who 
were  now  cast  away  upon  this  part  of  the  world,  not  one  life 
should  be  spared  but  mine.  I  learned  here  again  to  observe, 
that  it  is  very  rare  that  the  providence  of  God  casts  us  into 
any  condition  of  life  so  low,  or  any  misery  so  great,  but  we 
may  see  something  or  other  to  be  thankful  for,  and  may  see 
others  in  worse  circumstances  than  our  own. 

T2471 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

Such  certainly  was  the  case  of  these  men,  of  whom  I  could 
not  so  much  as  see  room  to  suppose  any  of  them  were  saved. 
Nothing  could  make  it  rational  so  much  as  to  wish  or  expect 
that  they  did  not  all  perish  there,  except  the  possibility  only  of 
their  being  taken  up  by  another  ship  in  company;  and  this  was 
but  mere  possibility  indeed,  for  I  saw  not  the  least  sign  or  ap- 
pearance of  any  such  thing. 

I  cannot  explain,  by  any  possible  energy  of  words,  what  a 
strange  longing  or  hankering  of  desires  I  felt  in  my  soul  upon 
this  sight,  breaking  out  sometimes  thus:  "Oh  that  there  had 
been  but  one  or  two,  nay,  or  but  one  soul,  saved  out  of  this 
ship,  to  have  escaped  to  me,  that  I  might  but  have  had  one 
companion,  one  fellow-creature,  to  have  spoken  to  me,  and  to 
have  conversed  with!"  In  all  the  time  of  my  solitary  life,  I 
never  felt  so  earnest,  so  strong  a  desire  after  the  society  of  my 
fellow-creatures,  or  so  deep  a  regret  at  the  want  of  it. 


[248] 


CHAPTER  XXI 

He  Visits  the  Wreck  and  Obtains  many  Stores  from  it — Again  Thinks 
of  Quitting   the  Island — Has   a  Remarkable  Dream 

THERE  are  some  secret  moving  springs  in  the  affections 
which,  when  they  are  set  agoing  by  some  object  in 
view,  or  be  it  some  object,  though  not  in  view,  yet 
rendered  present  to  the  mind  by  the  power  of  imagination,  that 
motion  carries  out  the  soul  by  its  impetuosity  to  such  violent, 
eager  embracings  of  the  object,  that  the  absence  of  it  is  in- 
supportable. 

Such  were  these  earnest  wishings  that  but  one  man  had  been 
saved!  "Oh  that  it  had  been  but  one!"  I  believe  I  repeated 
the  words  a  thousand  times ;  and  the  desires  were  so  moved  by 
it,  that  when  I  spoke  the  words  my  hands  would  clinch  together, 
and  my  fingers  press  the  palms  of  my  hands,  that  if  I  had  had 
any  soft  thing  in  my  hand,  it  would  have  crushed  it  involun- 
tarily; and  my  teeth  in  my  head  would  strike  together,  and  set 
against  one  another  so  strong,  that  for  some  time  I  could  not 
part  them  again. 

Let  the  naturalists  explain  these  things,  and  the  reason  and 
manner  of  them.  All  I  can  say  to  them  is  to  describe  the  fact, 
which  was  even  surprising  to  me  when  I  found  it,  though  I 
knew  not  from  what  it  should  proceed.  It  was  doubtless  the 
effect  of  ardent  wishes,  and  of  strong  ideas  formed  in  my  mind, 

[249] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

realising  the  comfort  which  the  conversation  of  one  of  my 
fellow- Christians  would  have  been  to  me. 

But  it  was  not  to  be.  Either  their  fate  or  mine,  or  both, 
forbid  it;  for,  till  the  last  year  of  my  being  on  this  island,  I 
never  knew  whether  any  were  saved  out  of  that  ship  or  no; 
and  had  only  the  affliction,  some  days  after,  to  see  the  corpse  of 
a  drowned  boy  come  on  shore  at  the  end  of  the  island  which  was 
next  the  shipwreck.  He  had  on  no  clothes  but  a  seaman's 
waistcoat,  a  pair  of  open-kneed  linen  drawers,  and  a  blue  linen 
shirt;  but  nothing  to  direct  me  so  much  as  to  guess  what  na- 
tion he  was  of.  He  had  nothing  in  his  pocket  but  two  pieces 
of  eight  and  a  tobacco-pipe.  The  last  was  to  me  of  ten  times 
more  value  than  the  first. 

It  was  now  calm,  and  I  had  a  great  mind  to  venture  out 
in  my  boat  to  this  wreck,  not  doubting  but  I  might  find  some- 
thing on  board  that  might  be  useful  to  me.  But  that  did  not 
altogether  press  me  so  much  as  the  possibility  that  there  might 
be  yet  some  living  creature  on  board,  whose  life  I  might  not 
only  save,  but  might,  by  saving  that  life,  comfort  my  own  to 
the  last  degree.  And  this  thought  clung  so  to  my  heart,  that  I 
could  not  be  quiet  night  nor  day,  but  I  must  venture  out  in 
my  boat  on  board  this  wreck ;  and  committing  the  rest  to  God's 
providence,  I  thought,  the  impression  was  so  strong  upon  my 
mind  that  it  could  not  be  resisted,  that  it  must  come  from  some 
invisible  direction,  and  that  I  should  be  wanting  to  myself  if  I 
did  not  go. 

Under  the  power  of  this  impression,  I  hastened  back  to 
my  castle,  prepared  everything  for  my  voyage,  took  a  quantity 

[250] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

of  bread,  a  great  pot  for  fresh  water,  a  compass  to  steer  by, 
a  bottle  of  rum  (for  I  had  still  a  great  deal  of  that  left),  a 
basket  full  of  raisins.  And  thus,  loading  myself  with  every- 
thing necessary,  I  went  down  to  my  boat,  got  the  water  out  of 
her,  and  got  her  afloat,  loaded  all  my  cargo  in  her,  and  then 
went  home  again  for  more.  My  second  cargo  was  a  great  bag 
full  of  rice,  the  umbrella  to  set  up  over  my  head  for  shade,  an- 
other large  pot  full  of  fresh  water,  and  about  two  dozen  of 
my  small  loaves,  or  barley-cakes,  more  than  before,  with  a 
bottle  of  goat's  milk  and  a  cheese;  all  of  which,  with  great 
labor  and  sweat,  I  brought  to  my  boat.  And  praying  to 
God  to  direct  my  voyage,  I  put  out ;  and  rowing,  or  paddling, 
the  canoe  along  the  shore,  I  came  at  last  to  the  utmost  point  of 
the  island  on  that  side,  viz.,  N.E.  And  now  I  was  to  launch 
out  into  the  ocean,  and  either  to  venture  or  not  to  venture. 
I  looked  on  the  rapid  currents  which  ran  constantly  on  both 
sides  of  the  island  at  a  distance,  and  which  were  very  terrible 
to  me,  from  the  remembrance  of  the  hazard  I  had  been  in  be- 
fore, and  my  heart  began  to  fail  me;  for  I  foresaw  that  if  I 
was  driven  into  either  of  those  currents,  I  should  be  carried  a 
vast  way  out  to  sea,  and  perhaps  out  of  my  reach,  or  sight  of 
the  island  again;  and  that  then,  as  my  boat  was  but  small,  if 
any  little  gale  of  wind  should  rise,  I  should  be  inevitably  lost. 

These  thoughts  so  oppressed  my  mind,  that  I  began  to 
give  over  my  enterprise;  and  having  hauled  my  boat  into  a 
little  creek  on  the  shore,  I  stepped  out,  and  sat  me  down  upon 
a  little  rising  bit  of  ground,  very  pensive  and  anxious,  between 
fear  and  desire,  about  my  voyage;  when,  as  I  was  musing,  I 

[251] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

could  perceive  that  the  tide  was  turned,  and  the  flood  come  on ; 
upon  which  my  going  was  for  so  many  hours  impracticable. 
Upon  this,  presently  it  occurred  to  me  that  I  should  go  up 
to  the  highest  piece  of  ground  I  could  rind  and  observe,  if  I 
could,  how  the  sets  of  the  tide,  or  currents,  lay  when  the  flood 
came  in,  that  I  might  judge  whether,  if  I  was  driven  one  way 
out,  I  might  not  expect  to  be  driven  another  way  home,  with 
the  same  rapidness  of  the  currents.  This  thought  was  no 
sooner  in  my  head  but  I  cast  my  eye  upon  a  little  hill,  which 
sufficiently  overlooked  the  sea  both  ways,  and  from  whence  I 
had  a  clear  view  of  the  currents,  or  sets  of  the  tide,  and  which 
way  I  was  to  guide  myself  in  my  return.  Here  I  found,  that 
as  the  current  of  the  ebb  set  out  close  by  the  south  point  of  the 
island,  so  the  current  of  the  flood  set  in  close  by  the  shore  of  the 
north  side;  and  that  I  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  keep  to  the 
north  of  the  island  in  my  return,  and  I  should  do  well  enough. 

Encouraged  with  this  observation,  I  resolved  the  next  morn- 
ing to  set  out  with  the  first  of  the  tide,  and  reposing  myself  for 
the  night  in  the  canoe,  under  the  great  watch-coat  I  mention, 
I  launched  out.  I  made  first  a  little  out  to  sea,  full  north, 
till  I  began  to  feel  the  benefit  of  the  current  which  set  east- 
ward, and  which  carried  me  at  a  great  rate ;  and  yet  did  not  so 
hurry  me  as  the  southern  side  current  had  done  before,  and  so  as 
to  take  from  me  all  government  of  the  boat;  but  having  a 
strong  steerage  with  my  paddle,  I  went  at  a  great  rate  directly 
for  the  wreck,  and  in  less  than  two  hours  I  came  up  to  it. 

It  was  a  dismal  sight  to  look  at.  The  ship,  which,  by  its 
building,  was  Spanish,  stuck  fast,  jammed  in  between  two 

[252] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

rocks.  All  the  stern  and  quarter  of  her  was  beaten  to  pieces 
with  the  sea;  and  as  her  forecastle,  which  stuck  in  the  rocks, 
had  run  on  with  great  violence,  her  mainmast  and  foremast 
were  brought  by  the  board ;  that  is  to  say,  broken  short  off ;  but 
her  bowsprit  was  sound,  and  the  head  and  bow  appeared  firm. 
When  I  came  close  to  her  a  dog  appeared  upon  her,  who, 
seeing  me  coming,  yelped  and  cried;  and  as  soon  as  I  called 
him,  jumped  into  the  sea  to  come  to  me,  and  I  took  him  into 
the  boat,  but  found  him  almost  dead  for  hunger  and  thirst.  I 
gave  him  a  cake  of  my  bread,  and  he  ate  it  like  a  ravenous  wolf 
that  had  been  starving  a  fortnight  in  the  snow.  I  then  gave 
the  poor  creature  some  fresh  water,  with  which,  if  I  would 
have  let  him,  he  would  have  burst  himself. 

After  this  I  went  on  board;  but  the  first  sight  I  met  with 
was  two  men  drowned  in  the  cook-room,  or  forecastle  of  the 
ship,  with  their  arms  fast  about  one  another.  I  concluded,  as 
is  indeed  probable,  that  when  the  ship  struck,  it  being  in  a 
storm,  the  sea  broke  so  high,  and  so  continually  over  her,  that 
the  men  were  not  able  to  bear  it,  and  were  strangled  with  the 
constant  rushing  in  of  the  water,  as  much  as  if  they  had  been 
under  water.  Besides  the  dog,  there  was  nothing  left  in  the 
ship  that  had  life;  nor  any  goods  that  I  could  see,  but  what 
were  spoiled  by  the  water.  There  were  some  casks  of  liquor, 
whether  wine  or  brandy  I  knew  not,  which  lay  lower  in  the  hold, 
and  which,  the  water  being  ebbed  out,  I  could  see;  but  they 
were  too  big  to  meddle  with.  I  saw  several  chests  which  I 
believed  belonged  to  some  of  the  seamen ;  and  I  got  two  of  them 
into  the  boat,  without  examining  what  was  in  them. 

[253] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

Had  the  stern  of  the  ship  been  fixed,  and  the  forepart 
broken  off,  I  am  persuaded  I  might  have  made  a  good  voy- 
age; for  by  what  I  found  in  these  two  chests,  I  had  room  to 
suppose  the  ship  had  a  great  deal  of  wealth  on  board ;  and  if  I 
may  guess  by  the  course  she  steered,  she  must  have  been  bound 
from  the  Buenos  Ayres,  or  the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  in  the  south 
part  of  America,  beyond  the  Brazils,  to  Havana,  in  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  so  perhaps  to  Spain.  She  had,  no  doubt,  a 
great  treasure  in  her,  but  of  no  use,  at  that  time,  to  anybody ; 
and  what  became  of  the  rest  of  her  people,  I  then  knew  not. 

I  found,  besides  these  chests,  a  little  cask  full  of  liquor, 
of  about  twenty  gallons,  which  I  got  into  my  boat  with  much 
difficulty.  There  were  several  muskets  in  a  cabin,  and  a  great 
powder-horn,  with  about  four  pounds  of  powder  in  it.  As 
for  the  muskets,  I  had  no  occasion  for  them,  so  I  left  them,  but 
took  the  powder-horn.  I  took  a  fire-shovel  and  tongs,  which 
I  wanted  extremely;  as  also  two  little  brass  kettles,  a  copper 
pot  to  make  chocolate,  and  a  gridiron.  And  with  this  cargo, 
and  the  dog,  I  came  away,  the  tide  beginning  to  make  home 
again;  and  the  same  evening,  about  an  hour  within  night,  I 
reached  the  island  again,  weary  and  fatigued  to  the  last  degree. 

I  reposed  that  night  in  the  boat;  and  in  the  morning  I  re- 
solved to  harbor  what  I  had  gotten  in  my  new  cave,  not  to 
carry  it  home  to  my  castle.  After  refreshing  myself,  I  got 
all  my  cargo  on  shore,  and  began  to  examine  the  particulars. 
The  cask  of  liquor  I  found  to  be  a  kind  of  rum,  but  not  such 
as  we  had  at  the  Brazils,  and,  in  a  word,  not  at  all  good.  But 
when  I  came  to  open  the  chests,  I  found  several  things  of  great 

[254] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

use  to  me.  For  example,  I  found  in  one  a  fine  case  of  bottles., 
of  an  extraordinary  kind,  and  filled  with  cordial  waters,  fine, 
and  very  good;  the  bottles  held  about  three  pints  each,  and 
were  tipped  with  silver.  I  found  two  pots  of  very  good  suc- 
cades,  or  sweetmeats,  so  fastened  also  on  top,  that  the  salt 
water  had  not  hurt  them ;  and  two  more  of  the  same,  which  the 
water  had  spoiled.  I  found  some  very  good  shirts,  which 
were  very  welcome  to  me;  and  about  a  dozen  and  half  of 
linen  white  handkerchiefs  and  colored  neck-cloths.  The 
former  were  also  very  welcome,  being  exceeding  refreshing  to 
wipe  my  face  on  a  hot  day.  Besides  this,  when  I  came  to  the 
till  in  the  chest,  I  found  there  three  great  bags  of  pieces  of 
eight,  which  held  out  about  eleven  hundred  pieces  in  all;  and 
in  one  of  them,  wrapped  up  in  a  paper,  six  doubloons  of  gold, 
and  some  small  bars  or  wedges  of  gold.  I  suppose  they  might 
all  weigh  near  a  pound. 

The  other  chest  I  found  had  some  clothes  in  it,  but  of  little 
value;  but  by  the  circumstances,  it  must  have  belonged  to  the 
gunner's  mate;  though  there  was  no  powder  in  it,  but  about 
two  pounds  of  fine  glazed  powder,  in  three  small  flasks,  kept, 
I  suppose,  for  charging  their  fowling-pieces  on  occasion. 
Upon  the  whole,  I  got  very  little  by  this  voyage  that  was  of 
any  use  to  me ;  for  as  to  the  money,  I  had  no  manner  of  occa- 
sion for  it ;  'twas  to  me  as  the  dirt  under  my  feet ;  and  I  would 
have  given  it  all  for  three  or  four  pair  of  English  shoes  and 
stockings,  which  were  things  I  greatly  wanted,  but  had  not  had 
on  my  feet  now  for  many  years.  I  had  indeed  gotten  two  pair 
of  shoes  now,  which  I  took  off  of  the  feet  of  the  two  drowned 

[255] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

men  whom  I  saw  in  the  wreck,  and  I  found  two  pair  more  in 
one  of  the  chests  which  were  very  welcome  to  me ;  but  they  were 
not  like  our  English  shoes,  either  for  ease  or  service,  being 
rather  what  we  call  pumps  than  shoes.  I  found  in  this  sea- 
man's chest  about  fifty  pieces  of  eight  in  royals,  but  no  gold.  I 
suppose  this  belonged  to  a  poorer  man  than  the  other,  which 
seemed  to  belong  to  some  officer. 

Well,  however,  I  lugged  this  money  home  to  my  cave,  and 
laid  it  up,  as  I  had  done  that  before  which  I  brought  from 
our  own  ship;  but  it  was  great  pity,  as  I  said,  that  the  other 
part  of  this  ship  had  not  come  to  my  share,  for  I  am  satisfied 
I  might  have  loaded  my  canoe  several  times  over  with  money, 
which,  if  I  had  ever  escaped  to  England,  would  have  lain  here 
safe  enough  till  I  might  have  come  again  and  fetched  it. 

Having  now  brought  all  my  things  on  shore,  and  secured 
them,  I  went  back  to  my  boat,  and  rowed  or  paddled  her  along 
the  shore  to  her  old  harbor,  where  I  laid  her  up,  and  made  the 
best  of  my  way  to  my  old  habitation,  where  I  found  every- 
thing safe  and  quiet.  So  I  began  to  repose  myself,  live  after 
my  old  fashion,  and  take  care  of  my  family  affairs ;  and,  for  a 
while,  I  lived  easy  enough,  only  that  I  was  more  vigilant  than 
I  used  to  be,  looked  out  oftener,  and  did  not  go  abroad  so  much; 
and  if  at  any  time  I  did  stir  with  any  freedom,  it  was  always  to 
the  east  part  of  the  island,  where  I  was  pretty  well  satisfied 
the  savages  never  came  and  where  I  could  go  without  so  many 
precautions,  and  such  a  load  of  arms  and  ammunition  as  I  al- 
ways carried  with  me  if  I  went  the  other  way. 

I  lived  in  this  condition  near  two  years  more;  but  my  un- 

[256] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

lucky  head,  that  was  always  to  let  me  know  it  was  born  to  make 
my  body  miserable,  was  all  this  two  years  filled  with  projects 
and  designs,  how,  if  it  were  possible,  I  might  get  away  from 
this  island;  for  sometimes  I  was  for  making  another  voyage 
to  the  wreck,  though  my  reason  told  me  that  there  was  noth- 
ing left  there  worth  the  hazard  of  my  voyage ;  sometimes  for  a 
ramble  one  way,  sometimes  another;  and  I  believe  verily,  if  1 
had  had  the  boat  that  I  went  from  Sallee  in,  I  should  have  ven- 
tured to  sea,  bound  anywhere,  I  knew  not  whither. 

I  have  been,  in  all  my  circumstances,  a  memento  to  those 
who  are  touched  with  the  general  plague  of  mankind,  whence, 
for  aught  I  know  one-half  of  their  miseries  flow;  I  mean,  that 
of  not  being  satisfied  with  the  station  wherein  God  and  Nature 
has  placed  them ;  for  now  to  look  back  upon  my  primitive  con- 
dition, and  the  excellent  advice  of  my  father,  the  opposition 
to  which  was,  as  I  may  call  it,  my  original  sin,  my  subsequent 
mistakes  of  the  same  kind  had  been  the  means  of  my  coming 
into  this  miserable  condition;  for  had  that  Providence,  which 
so  happily  had  seated  me  at  the  Brazils  as  a  planter,  blessed 
me  with  confined  desires,  and  I  could  have  been  contented 
to  have  gone  on  gradually,  I  might  have  been,  by  this  time,  I 
mean  in  the  time  of  my  being  in  this  island,  one  of  the  most 
considerable  planters  in  the  Brazils ;  nay,  I  am  persuaded  that 
by  the  improvements  I  had  made  in  that  little  time  I  lived 
there,  and  the  increase  I  should  probably  have  made  if  I  had 
stayed,  I  might  have  been  worth  an  hundred  thousand  moidores. 
And  what  business  had  I  to  leave  a  settled  fortune,  a  well- 
stocked  plantation,  improving  and  increasing,  to  turn  super- 

[257] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

cargo  to  Guinea  to  fetch  negroes,  when  patience  and  time  would 
have  so  increased  our  stock  at  home,  that  we  could  have  bought 
them  at  our  own  door  from  those  whose  business  it  was  to 
fetch  them;  and  though  it  had  cost  us  something  more,  yet  the 
difference  of  that  price  was  by  no  means  worth  saving  at  so 
great  a  hazard. 

But  as  this  is  ordinarily  the  fate  of  young  heads,  so  re- 
flection upon  the  folly  of  it  is  as  ordinarily  the  exercise  of  more 
years,  or  of  the  dear-bought  experience  of  time;  and  so  it  was 
with  me  now.  And  yet,  so  deep  had  the  mistake  taken  root 
in  my  temper,  that  I  could  not  satisfy  myself  in  my  station,  but 
was  continually  poring  upon  the  means  and  possibility  of  my 
escape  from  this  place.  And  that  I  may,  with  the  greater 
pleasure  to  the  reader,  bring  on  the  remaining  part  of  my 
story,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  give  some  account  of  my  first 
conceptions  on  the  subject  of  this  foolish  scheme  for  my  es- 
cape, and  how,  and  upon  what  foundation,  I  acted. 

I  am  now  to  be  supposed  retired  into  my  castle,  after  my 
late  voyage  to  the  wreck,  my  frigate  laid  up  and  secured  under 
water,  as  usual,  and  my  condition  restored  to  what  it  was  be- 
fore. I  had  more  wealth,  indeed,  than  I  had  before,  but  was 
not  at  all  the  richer ;  for  I  had  no  more  use  for  it  than  the  In- 
dians of  Peru  had  before  the  Spaniards  came  there. 

It  was  one  of  the  nights  in  the  rainy  season  in  March,  the 
four  and  twentieth  year  of  my  first  setting  foot  in  this  island 
of  solitariness.  I  was  lying  in  my  bed,  or  hammock,  awake, 
very  well  in  health,  had  no  pain,  no  distemper,  no  uneasiness 
of  body,  no,  nor  any  uneasiness  of  mind,  more  than  ordinary, 

[258] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

but  could  by  no  means  close  my  eyes,  that  is,  so  as  to  sleep; 
no,  not  a  wink  all  night  long,  otherwise  than  as  follows. 

It  is  as  impossible,  as  needless,  to  set  down  the  innumer- 
able crowd  of  thoughts  that  whirled  through  that  great  thor- 
oughfare of  the  brain,  the  memory,  in  this  night's  time.  I  ran 
over  the  whole  history  of  my  life  in  miniature,  or  by  abridg- 
ment, as  I  may  call  it,  to  my  coming  to  this  island,  and  also  of 
the  part  of  my  life  since  I  came  to  this  island.  In  my  reflec- 
tions upon  the  state  of  my  case  since  I*came  on  shore  on  this 
island,  I  was  comparing  the  happy  posture  of  my  affairs  in  the 
first  years  of  my  habitation  here  compared  to  the  life  of  anxiety, 
fear,  and  care  which  I  had  lived  ever  since  I  had  seen  the  print 
of  a  foot  in  the  sand ;  not  that  I  did  not  believe  the  savages  had 
frequented  the  island  even  all  the  while,  and  might  have  been 
several  hundreds  of  them  at  times  on  shore  there;  but  I  had 
never  known  it,  and  was  incapable  of  any  apprehensions  about 
it.  My  satisfaction  was  perfect,  though  my  danger  was  the 
same;  and  I  was  as  happy  in  not  knowing  my  danger,  as  if  I 
had  never  really  been  exposed  to  it.  This  furnished  my 
thoughts  with  many  very  profitable  reflections,  and  particularly 
this  one:  how  infinitely  good  that  Providence  is  which  has  pro- 
vided, in  its  government  of  mankind,  such  narrow  bounds  to 
his  sight  and  knowledge  of  things ;  and  though  he  walks  in  the 
midst  of  so  many  thousand  dangers,  the  sight  of  which,  if  dis- 
covered to  him,  would  distract  his  mind  and  sink  his  spirits,  he  is 
kept  serene  and  calm,  by  having  the  events  of  things  hid  from 
his  eyes,  and  knowing  nothing  of  the  dangers  which  surround 
him. 

[259] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

After  these  thoughts  had  for  some  time  entertained  me, 
I  came  to  reflect  seriously  upon  the  real  danger  I  had  been 
in  for  so  many  years  in  this  very  island,  and  how  I  had  walked 
about  in  the  greatest  security7,  and  with  all  possible  tranquillity, 
even  when  perhaps  nothing  but  a  brow  of  a  hill,  a  great  tree, 
or  the  casual  approach  of  night  had  been  between  me  and  the 
worst  kind  of  destruction,  viz.,  that  of  falling  into  the  hands  of 
cannibals  and  savages,  who  would  have  seized  on  me  with  the 
same  view  as  I  did  of  a  goat  or  a  turtle,  and  have  thought  it 
no  more  a  crime  to  kill  and  devour  me,  than  I  did  of  a  pigeon  or 
a  curlew.  I  would  unjustly  slander  myself  if  I  should  say  I 
was  not  sincerely  thankful  to  my  great  Preserver,  to  whose 
singular  protection  I  acknowledged,  with  great  humility,  that 
all  these  unknown  deliverances  were  due,  and  without  which  I 
must  inevitably  have  fallen  into  their  merciless  hands. 

When  these  thoughts  were  over,  my  head  was  for  some 
time  taken  up  in  considering  the  nature  of  these  wretched  crea- 
tures, I  mean  the  savages,  and  how  it  came  to  pass  in  the  world 
that  the  wise  Governor  of  all  things  should  give  up  any  of  His 
creatures  to  such  inhumanity ;  nay,  to  something  so  much  below 
even  brutality  itself,  as  to  devour  its  own  kind.  But  as  this 
ended  in  some  (at  that  time  fruitless)  speculations,  it  occurred 
to  me  to  inquire  what  part  of  the  world  these  wretches  lived 
in?  how  far  off  the  coast  was  from  whence  they  came?  what 
they  ventured  over  so  far  from  home  for?  what  kind  of  boats 
they  had?  and  why  I  might  not  order  myself  and  my  business 
so,  that  I  might  be  as  able  to  go  over  thither,  as  they  were  to 
come  to  me. 

[260] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  never  so  much  as  troubled  myself  to  consider  what  I 
should  do  with  myself  when  I  came  thither;  what  would  be- 
come of  me,  if  I  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  savages;  or  how  I 
should  escape  from  them,  if  they  attempted  me ;  no,  nor  so  much 
as  how  it  was  possible  for  me  to  reach  the  coast,  and  not  be 
attempted  by  some  or  other  of  them,  without  any  possibility  of 
delivering  myself;  and  if  I  should  not  fall  into  their  hands, 
what  I  should  do  for  provision;  or  whither  I  should  bend  my 
course.  None  of  these  thoughts,  I  say,  so  much  as  came  in 
my  way;  but  my  mind  was  wholly  bent  upon  the  notion  of  my 
passing  over  in  my  boat  to  the  mainland.  I  looked  back  upon 
my  present  condition  as  the  most  miserable  that  could  possibly 
be;  that  I  was  not  able  to  throw  myself  into  anything,  but 
death,  that  could  be  called  worse;  that  if  I  reached  the  shore 
of  the  main,  I  might  perhaps  meet  with  relief,  or  I  might 
coast  along,  as  I  did  on  the  shore  of  Africa,  till  I  came  to 
some  inhabited  country,  and  where  I  might  find  some  relief; 
and  after  all,  perhaps  I  might  fall  in  with  some  Christian  ship 
that  might  take  me  in;  and  if  the  worse  came  to  the  worst,  I 
could  but  die,  which  would  put  an  end  to  all  these  miseries  at 
once.  Pray,  note,  all  this  was  the  fruit  of  a  disturbed  mind, 
an  impatient  temper,  made  as  it  were  desperate  by  the  long 
continuance  of  my  troubles,  and  the  disappointments  I  had  met 
in  the  wreck  I  had  been  on  board  of,  and  where  I  had  been  so 
near  the  obtaining  what  I  so  earnestly  longed  for,  viz.,  some- 
body to  speak  to,  and  to  learn  some  knowledge  from  of  the  place 
where  I  was,  and  of  the  probable  means  of  my  deliverance.  I 
say,  I  was  agitated  wholly  by  these  thoughts.     All  my  calm 

[261] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

of  mind,  in  my  resignation  to  Providence,  and  waiting  the 
issue  of  the  dispositions  of  Heaven,  seemed  to  be  suspended; 
and  I  had,  as  it  were,  no  power  to  turn  my  thoughts  to  anything 
but  to  the  project  of  a  voyage  to  the  main,  which  came  upon 
me  with  such  force,  and  such  an  impetuosity  of  desire,  that  it 
was  not  to  be  resisted. 

When  this  had  agitated  my  thoughts  for  two  hours,  or 
more,  with  such  violence  that  it  set  my  very  blood  into  a  fer- 
ment, and  my  pulse  beat  as  high  as  if  I  had  been  in  a  fever, 
merely  with  the  extraordinary  fervor  of  my  mind  about  it, 
Nature,  as  if  I  had  been  fatigued  and  exhausted  with  the 
very  thought  of  it,  threw  me  into  a  sound  sleep.  One  would 
have  thought  I  should  have  dreamed  of  it,  but  I  did  not,  nor 
of  anything  relating  to  it;  but  I  dreamed  that  as  I  was  going 
out  in  the  morning,  as  usual,  from  my  castle,  I  saw  upon  the 
shore  two  canoes  and  eleven  savages  coming  to  land,  and  that 
they  brought  with  them  another  savage,  whom  they  were  go- 
ing to  kill  in  order  to  eat  him;  when,  on  a  sudden,  the  savage 
that  they  were  going  to  kill  jumped  away,  and  ran  for  his  life. 
And  I  thought,  in  my  sleep,  that  he  came  running  into  my  little 
thick  grove  before  my  fortification  to  hide  himself;  and  that 
I,  seeing  him  alone,  and  not  perceiving  that  the  others  sought 
him  that  way,  showed  myself  to  him,  and  smiling  upon  him, 
encouraged  him ;  that  he  kneeled  down  to  me,  seeming  to  pray 
me  to  assist  him;  upon  which  I  showed  my  ladder,  made  him 
go  up,  and  carried  him  into  my  cave,  and  he  became  my  servant; 
and  that  as  soon  as  I  had  gotten  this  man,  I  said  to  myself, 
"Now  I  may  certainly  venture  to  the  mainland;  for  this  fellow 

[262] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

will  serve  me  as  a  pilot,  and  will  tell  me  what  to  do,  and  whither 
to  go  for  provisions,  and  whither  not  to  go  for  fear  of  being 
devoured;  what  places  to  venture  into,  and  what  to  escape." 
I  waked  with  this  thought,  and  was  under  such  inexpressible 
impressions  of  joy  at  the  prospect  of  my  escape  in  my  dream, 
that  the  disappointments  which  I  felt  upon  coming  to  myself 
and  finding  it  was  no  more  than  a  dream  were  equally  extrava- 
gant the  other  way,  and  threw  me  into  a  very  great  dejection 
of  spirit. 

Upon  this,  however,  I  made  this  conclusion;  that  my  only 
way  to  go  about  an  attempt  for  an  escape  was,  if  possible,  to 
get  a  savage  into  my  possession;  and,  if  possible,  it  should  be 
one  of  their  prisoners  whom  they  had  condemned  to  be  eaten, 
and  should  bring  thither  to  kill.  But  these  thoughts  still  were 
attended  with  this  difficulty,  that  it  was  impossible  to  effect  this 
without  attacking  a  whole  caravan  of  them,  and  killing  them  all ; 
and  this  was  not  only  a  very  desperate  attempt,  and  might  mis- 
carry, but,  on  the  other  hand,  I  had  greatly  scrupled  the  law- 
fulness of  it  to  me ;  and  my  heart  trembled  at  the  thoughts  of 
shedding  so  much  blood,  though  it  was  for  my  deliverance.  I 
need  not  repeat  the  arguments  which  occurred  to  me  against 
this,  they  being  the  same  mentioned  before.  But  though  I 
had  other  reasons  to  offer  now,  viz.,  that  those  men  were 
enemies  to  my  life,  and  would  devour  me  if  they  could;  that  it 
was  self-preservation,  in  the  highest  degree,  to  deliver  myself 
from  this  death  of  a  life,  and  was  acting  in  my  own  defence 
as  much  as  if  they  were  actually  assaulting  me,  and  the  like; 
I  say,  though  these  things  argued  for  it,  yet  the  thoughts  of 

[263] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

shedding  human  blood  for  my  deliverance  were  very  terrible 
to  me,  and  such  as  I  could  by  no  means  reconcile  myself  to  a 
great  while. 

However,  at  last,  after  many  secret  disputes  with  myself, 
and  after  great  perplexities  about  it,  for  all  these  arguments, 
one  way  and  another,  struggled  in  nry  head  a  long  time,  the 
eager  prevailing  desire  of  deliverance  at  length  mastered  all 
the  rest,  and  I  resolved,  if  possible,  to  get  one  of  those  savages 
into  my  hands,  cost  what  it  would.  My  next  thing  then  was 
to  contrive  how  to  do  it,  and  this  indeed  was  very  difficult  to 
resolve  on.  But  as  I  could  pitch  upon  no  probable  means  for 
it,  so  I  resolved  to  put  myself  upon  the  watch,  to  see  them 
when  they  came  on  shore,  and  leave  the  rest  to  the  event,  taking 
such  measures  as  the  opportunity  should  present,  let  be  what 
would  be. 

With  these  resolutions  in  my  thoughts,  I  set  myself  upon 
the  scout  as  often  as  possible,  and  indeed  so  often,  till  I  was 
heartily  tired  of  it;  for  it  was  above  a  year  and  half  that  I 
waited;  and  for  great  part  of  that  time  went  out  to  the  west 
end,  and  to  the  south-west  corner  of  the  island,  almost  every 
day,  to  see  for  canoes,  but  none  appeared.  This  was  very  dis- 
couraging, and  began  to  trouble  me  much;  though  I  cannot 
say  that  it  did  in  this  case,  as  it  had  done  some  time  before 
that,  viz.,  wear  off  the  edge  of  my  desire  to  the  thing.  But  the 
longer  it  seemed  to  be  delayed,  the  more  eager  I  was  for  it. 
In  a  word,  I  was  not  at  first  so  careful  to  shun  the  sight  of 
these  savages,  and  avoid  being  seen  by  them,  as  I  was  now 
eager  to  be  upon  them. 

[264] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

Besides,  I  fancied  myself  able  to  manage  one,  nay,  two  or 
three  savages,  if  I  had  them,  so  as  to  make  them  entirely  slaves 
to  me,  to  do  whatever  I  should  direct  them,  and  to  prevent 
their  being  able  at  any  time  to  do  me  any  hurt.  It  was  a  great 
while  that  I  pleased  myself  with  this  affair;  but  nothing  still 
presented.  All  my  fancies  and  schemes  came  to  nothing,  for 
no  savages  came  near  me  for  a  great  while. 


[265] 


CHAPTER  XXII 

Robinson  Rescues  One  of  Their  Captives  from  the  Savages,   Whom 
He  Names  Friday,  and  Makes  His  Servant 

ABOUT  a  year  and  half  after  I  had  entertained  these 
notions,  and  by  long  musing  had,  as  it  were,  resolved 
them  all  into  nothing,  for  want  of  an  occasion  to  put 
them  in  execution,  I  was  surprised,  one  morning  early,  with 
seeing  no  less  than  five  canoes  all  on  shore  together  on  my 
side  the  island,  and  the  people  who  belonged  to  them  all  landed, 
and  out  of  my  sight.  The  number  of  them  broke  all  my 
measures;  for  seeing  so  many,  and  knowing  that  they  always 
came  four,  or  six,  or  sometimes  more,  in  a  boat,  I  could  not 
tell  what  to  think  of  it,  or  how  to  take  my  measures  to  at- 
tack twenty  or  thirty  men  single-handed;  so  I  lay  still  in  my 
castle,  perplexed  and  discomforted.  However,  I  put  myself 
into  all  the  same  postures  for  an  attack  that  I  had  formerly 
provided,  and  was  just  ready  for  action  if  anything  had  pre- 
sented. Having  waited  a  good  while,  listening  to  hear  if  they 
made  any  noise,  at  length,  being  very  impatient,  I  set  my  guns 
at  the  foot  of  my  ladder,  and  clambered  up  to  the  top  of  the 
hill,  by  my  two  stages,  as  usual;  standing  so,  however,  that 
my  head  did  not  appear  above  the  hill,  so  that  they  could  not 
perceive  me  by  any  means.  Here  I  observed,  by  the  help  of 
my  perspective-glass,  that  they  were  no  less  than  thirty  in 

[266] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

number,  that  they  had  a  fire  kindled,  that  they  had  had  meat 
dressed.  How  they  had  cooked  it,  that  I  knew  not,  or  what 
it  was;  but  they  were  all  dancing,  in  I  know  not  how  many 
barbarous  gestures  and  figures,  their  own  way,  round  the  fire. 

While  I  was  thus  looking  on  them,  I  perceived  by  my  per- 
spective two  miserable  wretches  dragged  from  the  boats,  where, 
it  seems,  they  were  laid  by,  and  were  now  brought  out  for  the 
slaughter.  I  perceived  one  of  them  immediately  fell,  being 
knocked  down,  I  suppose,  with  a  club  or  wooden  sword,  for 
that  was  their  way,  and  two  or  three  others  were  at  work  im- 
mediately, cutting  him  open  for  their  cookery,  while  the  other 
victim  was  left  standing  by  himself,  till  they  should  be  ready 
for  him.  In  that  very  moment  this  poor  wretch  seeing  him- 
self a  little  at  liberty,  Nature  inspired  him  with  hopes  of  life, 
and  he  started  away  from  them,  and  ran  with  incredible  swift- 
ness along  the  sands  directly  towards  me,  I  mean  towards 
that  part  of  the  coast  where  my  habitation  was. 

I  was  dreadfully  frightened  (that  I  must  acknowledge) 
when  I  perceived  him  to  run  my  way,  and  especially  when,  as 
I  thought,  I  saw  him  pursued  by  the  whole  body;  and  now  I 
expected  that  part  of  my  dream  was  coming  to  pass,  and  that 
he  would  certainly  take  shelter  in  my  grove;  but  I  could  not 
depend,  by  any  means,  upon  my  dream  for  the  rest  of  it,  viz., 
that  the  other  savages  would  not  pursue  him  thither,  and  find 
him  there.  However,  I  kept  my  station,  and  my  spirits  began 
to  recover  when  I  found  that  there  was  not  above  three  men 
that  followed  him;  and  still  more  was  I  encouraged  when  I 
found  that  he  outstripped  them  exceedingly  in  running,  and 

[267] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

gained  ground  of  them ;  so  that  if  he  could  but  hold  it  for  half 
an  hour,  I  saw  easily  he  would  fairly  get  away  from  them  all. 

There  was  between  them  and  my  castle  the  creek,  which 
I  mentioned  often  at  the  first  part  of  my  story,  when  I  landed 
my  cargoes  out  of  the  ship;  and  this  I  saw  plainly  he  must 
necessarily  swim  over,  or  the  poor  wretch  would  be  taken 
there.  But  when  the  savage  escaping  came  thither  he  made 
nothing  of  it,  though  the  tide  was  then  up;  but  plunging  in, 
swam  through  in  about  thirty  strokes  or  thereabouts,  landed, 
and  ran  on  with  exceeding  strength  and  swiftness.  When 
the  three  persons  came  to  the  creek,  I  found  that  two  of  them 
could  swim,  but  the  third  could  not,  and  that,  standing  on  the 
other  side,  he  looked  at  the  other,  but  went  no  farther,  and 
soon  after  went  softly  back,  which,  as  it  happened,  was  very 
well  for  him  in  the  main. 

I  observed,  that  the  two  who  swam  were  yet  more  than 
twice  as  long  swimming  over  the  creek  as  the  fellow  was  that 
fled  from  them.  It  came  now  very  warmly  upon  my  thoughts, 
and  indeed  irresistibly,  that  now  was  my  time  to  get  me  a 
servant,  and  perhaps  a  companion  or  assistant,  and  that  I  was 
called  plainly  by  Providence  to  save  this  poor  creature's  life. 
I  immediately  ran  down  the  ladders  with  all  possible  expedi- 
tion, fetched  my  two  guns,  for  they  were  both  but  at  the  foot 
of  the  ladders,  as  I  observed  above,  and  getting  up  again,  with 
the  same  haste,  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  I  crossed  toward  the  sea, 
and  having  a  very  short  cut,  and  all  down  hill,  clapped  my- 
self in  the  way  between  the  pursuers  and  the  pursued,  hallooing 
aloud  to  him  that  fled,  who,  looking  back,  was  at  first  perhaps 

[268] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

as  much  frightened  at  me  as  at  them ;  and  I  beckoned  with  my 
hand  to  him  to  come  back;  and,  in  the  meantime,  I  slowly  ad- 
vanced towards  the  two  that  followed;  then  rushing  at  once 
upon  the  foremost,  I  knocked  him  down  with  the  stock  of  my 
piece.  I  was  loth  to  fire,  because  I  would  not  have  the  rest 
hear;  though,  at  that  distance,  it  would  not  have  been  easily 
heard,  and  being  out  of  sight  of  the  smoke  too,  they  would 
not  have  easily  known  what  to  make  of  it.  Having  knocked 
this  fellow  down,  the  other  who  pursued  with  him  stopped,  as 
if  he  had  been  frightened,  and  I  advanced  apace  towards  him; 
but  as  I  came  nearer,  I  perceived  presently  he  had  a  bow  and 
arrow,  and  was  fitting  it  to  shoot  at  me;  so  I  was  then  necessi- 
tated to  shoot  at  him  first,  which  I  did,  and  killed  him  at  the 
first  shot. 

The  poor  savage  who  fled,  but  had  stopped,  though  he  saw 
both  his  enemies  fallen  and  killed,  as  he  thought,  yet  was  so 
frightened  with  the  fire  and  noise  of  my  piece,  that  he  stood 
stock-still,  and  neither  came  forward  nor  went  backward, 
though  he  seemed  rather  inclined  to  fly  still,  than  to  come  on. 

I  hallooed  again  to  him,  and  made  signs  to  come  forward, 
which  he  easily  understood,  and  came  a  little  way,  then  stopped 
again,  and  then  a  little  farther,  and  stopped  again;  and  I 
could  then  perceive  that  he  stood  trembling,  as  if  he  had  been 
taken  prisoner,  and  had  just  been  to  be  killed,  as  his  two 
enemies  were.  I  beckoned  him  again  to  come  to  me,  and  gave 
him  all  the  signs  of  encouragement  that  I  could  think  of;  and 
he  came  nearer  and  nearer,  kneeling  down  every  ten  or  twelve 
steps,  in  token  of  acknowledgment  for  my  saving  his  life.     I 

[269] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

smiled  at  him,  and  looked  pleasantly,  and  beckoned  to  him  to 
come  still  nearer.  At  length  he  came  close  to  me,  and  then  he 
kneeled  down  again,  kissed  the  ground,  and  laid  his  head  upon 
the  ground,  and  taking  me  by  the  foot,  set  my  foot  upon  his 
head.  This,  it  seems,  was  in  token  of  swearing  to  be  my  slave 
for  ever.  I  took  him  up,  and  made  much  of  him,  and  en- 
couraged him  all  I  could.  But  there  was  more  work  to  do  yet; 
for  I  perceived  the  savage  whom  I  knocked  down  was  not 
killed,  but  stunned  with  the  blow,  and  began  to  come  to  him- 
self; so  I  pointed  to  him,  and  showing  him  the  savage,  that 
he  was  not  dead,  upon  this  he  spoke  some  words  to  me;  and 
though  I  could  not  understand  them,  yet  I  thought  they  were 
pleasant  to  hear ;  for  they  were  the  first  sound  of  a  man's  voice 
that  I  had  heard,  my  own  excepted,  for  above  twenty-five 
years.  But  there  was  no  time  for  such  reflections  now.  The 
savage  who  was  knocked  down  recovered  himself  so  far  as  to 
sit  up  upon  the  ground  and  I  perceived  that  my  savage  began 
to  be  afraid;  but  when  I  saw  that,  I  presented  my  other  piece  at 
the  man,  as  if  I  would  shoot  him.  Upon  this  my  savage,  for 
so  I  call  him  now,  made  a  motion  to  me  to  lend  him  my  sword, 
which  hung  naked  in  a  belt  by  my  side;  so  I  did.  He  no 
sooner  had  it  but  he  runs  to  his  enemy,  and,  at  one  blow,  cut  off 
his  head  as  cleverly,  no  executioner  in  Germany  could  have 
done  it  sooner  or  better;  which  I  thought  very  strange  for  one 
who,  I  had  reason  to  believe,  never  saw  a  sword  in  his  life  be- 
fore, except  their  own  wooden  swords.  However,  it  seems,  as 
I  learned  afterwards,  they  make  their  wooden  swords  so  sharp, 
so  heavy,  and  the  wood  is  so  hard,  that  they  will  cut  off  heads 

[270] 


"  —  and  then  he  kneeled  down  again,  kissed  the  ground,  and  taking  me  by  the  foot, 
set  my  foot  upon  his  h  ead  ' ' 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

even  with  them,  ay,  and  arms,  and  that  at  one  blow  too.  When 
he  had  done  this,  he  came  laughing  to  me  in  sign  of  triumph, 
and  brought  me  the  sword  again,  and  with  abundance  of  ges- 
tures, which  I  did  not  understand,  laid  it  down,  with  the  head 
of  the  savage  that  he  had  killed,  just  before  me. 

But  that  which  astonished  him  most  was  to  know  how  I 
had  killed  the  other  Indian  so  far  off;  so  pointing  to  him,  he 
made  signs  to  me  to  let  him  go  to  him;  so  I  bade  him  go,  as 
well  as  I  could.  When  he  came  to  him,  he  stood  like  one 
amazed,  looking  at  him,  turned  him  first  on  one  side,  then  on 
t'other,  looked  at  the  wound  the  bullet  had  made,  which,  it 
seems,  was  just  in  his  breast,  where  it  had  made  a  hole,  and 
no  great  quantity  of  blood  had  followed;  but  he  had  bled  in- 
wardly, for  he  was  quite  dead.  He  took  up  his  bow  and 
arrows,  and  came  back;  so  I  turned  to  go  away,  and  beckoned 
to  him  to  follow  me  making  signs  to  him  that  more  might  come 
after  them. 

Upon  this  he  signed  to  me  that  he  should  bury  them  with 
sand,  that  they  might  not  be  seen  by  the  rest  if  they  followed ; 
and  so  I  made  signs  again  to  him  to  do  so.  He  fell  to  work, 
and  in  an  instant  he  had  scraped  a  hole  in  the  sand  with  his 
hands  big  enough  to  bury  the  first  in,  and  then  dragged  him 
into  it,  and  covered  him,  and  did  so  also  by  the  other.  I  believe 
he  had  buried  them  both  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  Then  calling 
him  away,  I  carried  him,  not  to  my  castle,  but  quite  away  to 
my  cave,  on  the  farther  part  of  the  island ;  so  I  did  not  let  my 
dream  come  to  pass  in  that  part,  viz.,  that  he  came  into  my 
grove  for  shelter. 

[271] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

Here  I  gave  him  bread  and  a  bunch  of  raisins  to  eat,  and 
a  draught  of  water,  which  I  found  he  was  indeed  in  great  dis- 
tress for,  by  his  running;  and  having  refreshed  him,  I  made 
signs  for  him  to  go  lie  down  and  sleep,  pointing  to  a  place 
where  I  had  laid  a  great  parcel  of  rice-straw,  and  a  blanket 
upon  it,  which  I  used  to  sleep  upon  myself  sometimes;  so  the 
poor  creature  lay  down,  and  went  to  sleep. 

He  was  a  comely,  handsome  fellow,  perfectly  well  made, 
with  straight  strong  limbs,  not  too  large,  tall,  and  well-shaped, 
and,  as  I  reckon,  about  twenty-six  years  of  age.  He  had  a 
very  good  countenance,  not  a  fierce  and  surly  aspect,  but  seemed 
to  have  something  very  manly  in  his  face;  and  yet  he  had  all 
the  sweetness  and  softness  of  an  European  in  his  countenance 
too,  especially  when  he  smiled.  His  hair  was  long  and  black, 
not  curled  like  wool;  his  forehead  very  high  and  large;  and  a 
great  vivacity  and  sparkling  sharpness  in  his  eyes.  The  color 
of  his  skin  was  not  quite  black,  but  very  tawny ;  and  yet  not  of 
an  ugly,  yellow,  nauseous  tawny,  as  the  Brazilians  and  Virgin- 
ians, and  other  natives  of  America  are,  but  of  a  bright  kind 
of  a  dun  olive  color,  that  had  in  it  something  very  agreeable, 
though  not  very  easy  to  describe.  His  face  was  round  and 
plump;  his  nose  small,  not  flat  like  the  negroes;  a  very  good 
mouth,  thin  lips,  and  his  fine  teeth  well  set,  and  white  as  ivory. 

After  he  had  slumbered,  rather  than  slept,  about  half  an 
hour,  he  waked  again,  and  came  out  of  the  cave  to  me,  for  I 
had  been  milking  my  goats,  which  I  had  in  the  enclosure  just 
by.  When  he  espied  me,  he  came  running  to  me,  laying  him- 
self down  again  upon  the  ground,  with  all  the  possible  signs 

[272] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

of  an  humble,  thankful  disposition,  making  many  antic  ges- 
tures to  show  it.  At  last  he  lays  his  head  flat  upon  the  ground, 
close  to  my  foot,  and  sets  my  other  foot  upon  his  head,  as  he 
had  done  before,  and  after  this  made  all  the  signs  to  me  of 
subjection,  servitude,  and  submission  imaginable,  to  let  me 
know  how  he  would  serve  me  as  long  as  he  lived.  I  under- 
stood him  in  many  things,  and  let  him  know  I  was  very  well 
pleased  with  him.  In  a  little  time  I  began  to  speak  to  him, 
and  teach  him  to  speak  to  me;  and,  first,  I  made  him  know  his 
name  should  be  Friday,  which  was  the  day  I  saved  his  life. 
I  called  him  so  for  the  memory  of  the  time.  I  likewise  taught 
him  to  say  master,  and  then  let  him  know  that  was  to  be  my 
name.  I  likewise  taught  him  to  say  Yes  and  No,  and  to  know 
the  meaning  of  them.  I  gave  him  some  milk  in  an  earthen  pot, 
and  let  him  see  me  drink  it  before  him,  and  sop  my  bread  in 
it;  and  I  gave  him  a  cake  of  bread  to  do  the  like,  which  he 
quickly  complied  with,  and  made  signs  that  it  was  very  good 
for  him. 

I  kept  there  with  him  all  that  night ;  but  as  soon  as  it  was 
day,  I  beckoned  to  him  to  come  with  me,  and  let  him  know  I 
would  give  him  some  clothes;  at  which  he  seemed  very  glad, 
for  he  was  stark  naked.  As  we  went  by  the  place  where  he 
had  buried  the  two  men,  he  pointed  exactly  to  the  place,  and 
showed  me  the  marks  that  he  had  made  to  find  them  again, 
making  signs  to  me  that  we  should  dig  them  up  again,  and  eat 
them.  At  this  I  appeared  very  angry,  expressed  my  abhor- 
rence of  it,  made  as  if  I  would  vomit  at  the  thoughts  of  it, 
and  beckoned  with  my  hand  to  him  to  come  away ;  which  he  did 

[2731 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

immediately,  with  great  submission.  I  then  led  him  up  to  the 
top  of  the  hill,  to  see  if  his  enemies  were  gone ;  and  pulling  out 
my  glass,  I  looked,  and  saw  plainly  the  place  where  they  had 
been,  but  no  appearance  of  them  or  of  their  canoes ;  so  that  it 
was  plain  that  they  were  gone,  and  had  left  their  two  com- 
rades behind  them,  without  any  search  after  them. 

But  I  was  not  content  with  this  discovery ;  but  having  now 
more  courage,  and  consequently  more  curiosity,  I  took  my  man 
Friday  with  me,  giving  him  the  sword  in  his  hand,  with  the 
bow  and  arrows  at  his  back,  which  I  found  he  could  use  very 
dexterously,  making  him  cany  one  gun  for  me,  and  I  two  for 
myself,  and  away  we  marched  to  the  place  where  these  creatures 
had  been ;  for  I  had  a  mind  now  to  get  some  fuller  intelligence 
of  them.  When  I  came  to  the  place,  my  very  blood  ran  chill 
in  my  veins,  and  my  heart  sunk  within  me,  at  the  horror  of 
the  spectacle.  Indeed,  it  was  a  dreadful  sight,  at  least  it  was 
so  to  me,  though  Friday  made  nothing  of  it.  The  place  was 
covered  with  human  bones,  the  ground  dyed  with  their  blood, 
great  pieces  of  flesh  left  here  and  there,  half-eaten,  mangled, 
and  scorched;  and,  in  short,  all  the  tokens  of  the  triumphant 
feast  they  had  been  making  there,  after  a  victory  over  their 
enemies.  I  saw  three  skulls,  five  hands,  and  the  bones  of 
three  or  four  legs  and  feet,  and  abundance  of  other  parts  of 
the  bodies;  and  Friday,  by  his  signs,  made  me  understand 
that  they  brought  over  four  prisoners  to  feast  upon ;  that  three 
of  them  were  eaten  up,  and  that  he,  pointing  to  himself,  was 
the  fourth;  that  there  had  been  a  great  battle  between  them 
and  their  next  king,  whose  subjects  it  seems  he  had  been  one 

[274] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

of,  and  that  they  had  taken  a  great  number  of  prisoners;  all 
of  which  were  carried  to  several  places  by  those  that  had 
taken  them  in  the  fight,  in  order  to  feast  upon  them,  as  was 
done  here  by  these  wretches  upon  those  they  brought  hither. 

I  caused  Friday  to  gather  all  the  skulls,  bones,  flesh,  and 
whatever  remained,  and  lay  them  together  on  a  heap,  and 
make  a  great  fire  upon  it,  and  burn  them  all  to  ashes.  I  found 
Friday  had  still  a  hankering  stomach  after  some  of  the  flesh, 
and  was  still  a  cannibal  in  his  nature ;  but  I  discovered  so  much 
abhorrence  at  the  very  thoughts  of  it,  and  at  the  least  appear- 
ance of  it,  that  he  durst  not  discover  it;  for  I  had,  by  some 
means,  let  him  know  that  I  would  kill  him  if  he  offered  it. 

When  we  had  done  this  we  came  back  to  our  castle,  and 
there  I  fell  to  work  for  my  man  Friday;  and,  first  of  all,  I 
gave  him  a  pair  of  linen  drawers,  which  I  had  out  of  the  poor 
gunner's  chest  I  mentioned,  and  which  I  found  in  the  wreck; 
and  which,  with  a  little  alteration,  fitted  him  very  well.  Then 
I  made  him  a  jerkin  of  goat's  skin,  as  well  as  my  skill  would 
allow,  and  I  was  now  grown  a  tolerable  good  tailor;  and  I  gave 
him  a  cap,  which  I  had  made  of  a  hare-skin,  very  convenient 
and  fashionable  enough;  and  thus  he  was  clothed  for  the  pres- 
ent tolerably  well,  and  was  mighty  well  pleased  to  see  himself 
almost  as  well  clothed  as  his  master.  It  is  true  he  went  awk- 
wardly in  these  things  at  first;  wearing  the  drawers  was  very 
awkward  to  him,  and  the  sleeves  of  the  waistcoat  galled  his 
shoulders,  and  the  inside  of  his  arms;  but  a  little  easing  them 
where  he  complained  they  hurt  him,  and  using  himself  to 
them,  at  length  he  took  to  them  very  well. 

[275] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

The  next  day  after  I  came  home  to  my  hutch  with  him, 
I  began  to  consider  where  I  should  lodge  him.  And  that  I 
might  do  well  for  him,  and  yet  be  perfectly  easy  myself,  I 
made  a  little  tent  for  him  in  the  vacant  place  between  my  two 
fortifications,  in  the  inside  of  the  last  and  in  the  outside  of 
the  first;  and  as  there  was  a  door  or  entrance  there  into  my 
cave,  I  made  a  formal  framed  door-case,  and  a  door  to  it  of 
boards,  and  set  it  up  in  the  passage,  a  little  within  the  entrance ; 
and  causing  the  door  to  open  on  the  inside,  I  barred  it  up  in  the 
night,  taking  in  my  ladders  too;  so  that  Friday  could  in  no 
way  come  at  me  in  the  inside  of  my  innermost  wall  without 
making  so  much  noise  in  getting  over,  that  it  must  needs  waken 
me;  for  my  first  wall  had  now  a  complete  roof  over  it  of  long 
poles,  covering  all  my  tent,  and  leaning  up  to  the  side  of  the 
hill,  which  was  again  laid  cross  with  smaller  sticks  instead  of 
laths,  and  then  thatched  over  a  great  thickness  with  the  rice- 
straw,  which  was  strong,  like  reeds;  and  at  the  hole  or  place 
which  was  left  to  go  in  or  out  by  the  ladder,  I  had  placed  a 
kind  of  trap-door,  which,  if  it  had  been  attempted  on  the  out- 
side, would  not  have  opened  at  all,  but  would  have  fallen  down, 
and  made  a  great  noise ;  and  as  to  weapons,  I  took  them  all  into 
my  side  every  night. 

But  I  needed  none  of  all  this  precaution;  for  never  man 
had  a  more  faithful,  loving,  sincere  servant  than  Friday  was 
to  me ;  without  passions,  sullennes,  or  designs,  perfectly  obliged 
and  engaged;  his  very  affections  were  tied  to  me,  like  those  of 
a  child  to  a  father;  and  I  dare  say  he  would  have  sacrificed 
his  life  for  the  saving  mine,  upon  any  occasion  whatsoever. 

[276] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

The  many  testimonies  he  gave  me  of  this  put  it  out  of  doubt, 
and  soon  convinced  me  that  I  needed  to  use  no  precautions  as  to 
my  safety  on  his  account. 

This  frequently  gave  me  occasion  to  observe,  and  that  with 
wonder,  that  however  it  had  pleased  God,  in  His  providence, 
and  in  the  government  of  the  works  of  His  hands,  to  take  from 
so  great  a  part  of  the  world  of  His  creatures  the  best  uses  to 
which  their  faculties  and  the  powers  of  their  souls  are  adapted, 
yet  that  He  has  bestowed  upon  them  the  same  powers,  the  same 
reason,  the  same  affections,  the  same  sentiments  of  kindness 
and  obligation,  the  same  passions  and  resentments  of  wrongs, 
the  same  sense  of  gratitude,  sincerity,  fidelity,  and  all  the 
capacities  of  doing  good,  and  receiving  good,  that  He  has  given 
to  us ;  and  that  when  He  pleases  to  offer  to  them  occasions  of 
exerting  these,  they  are  as  ready,  nay,  more  ready,  to  apply 
them  to  the  right  uses  for  which  they  were  bestowed  than  we 
are.  And  this  made  me  very  melancholy  sometimes,  in  reflect- 
ing, as  the  several  occasions  presented,  how  mean  a  use  we  make 
of  all  these,  even  though  we  have  these  powers  enlightened  by 
the  great  lamp  of  instruction,  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  by  the 
knowledge  of  His  Word  added  to  our  understanding;  and 
why  it  has  pleased  God  to  hide  the  like  saving  knowledge  from 
so  many  millions  of  souls,  who,  if  I  might  judge  by  this  poor 
savage,  would  make  a  much  better  use  of  it  than  we  did. 

From  hence,  I  sometimes  was  led  too  far  to  invade  the 
sovereignty  of  Providence,  and  as  it  were  arraign  the  justice 
of  so  arbitrary  a  disposition  of  things,  that  should  hide  that 
light  from  some,  and  reveal  it  to  others,  and  yet  expect  a  like 

[277] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

duty  from  both.  But  I  shut  it  up,  and  checked  my  thoughts 
with  this  conclusion:  first,  that  we  did  not  know  by  what 
light  and  law  these  should  be  condemned ;  but  that  as  God  was 
necessarily,  and  by  the  nature  of  His  being,  infinitely  holy  and 
just,  so  it  could  not  be  but  that  if  these  creatures  were  all  sen- 
tenced to  absence  from  Himself,  it  was  on  account  of  sinning 
against  that  light,  which,  as  the  Scripture  says,  was  a  law  to 
themselves,  and  by  such  rules  as  their  consciences  would  ac- 
knowledge to  be  just,  though  the  foundation  was  not  discov- 
ered to  us ;  and,  second,  that  still,  as  we  are  all  the  clay  in  the 
hand  of  the  potter,  no  vessel  could  say  to  Him,  "Why  hast 
Thou  formed  me  thus?" 

But  to  return  to  my  new  companion.  I  was  greatly  de- 
lighted with  him,  and  made  it  my  business  to  teach  him  every- 
thing that  was  proper  to  make  him  useful,  handy,  and  helpful; 
but  especially  to  make  him  speak,  and  understand  me  when  I 
spake.  And  he  was  the  aptest  scholar  that  ever  was;  and 
particularly  was  so  merry,  so  constantly  diligent,  and  so  pleased 
when  he  could  but  understand  me,  or  make  me  understand  him, 
that  it  was  very  pleasant  to  me  to  talk  to  him.  And  now  my 
life  began  to  be  so  easy,  that  I  began  to  say  to  myself,  that 
«ould  I  but  have  been  safe  from  more  savages,  I  cared  not  if 
I  was  never  to  remove  from  the  place  while  I  lived. 


[278] 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

Robinson  Instructs  and  Civilizes  His  Man  Friday  and  Endeavors  to 
Give  Him  an  Idea  of  Christianity 

AFTER  I  had  been  two  or  three  days  returned  to  my 
castle,  I  thought  that,  in  order  to  bring  Friday  off 
from  his  horrid  way  of  feeding,  and  from  the  relish 
of  a  cannibal's  stomach,  I  ought  to  let  him  taste  other  flesh; 
so  I  took  him  out  with  me  one  morning  to  the  woods.  I  went, 
indeed,  intending  to  kill  a  kid  out  of  my  own  flock,  and  bring 
him  home  and  dress  it ;  but  as  I  was  going,  I  saw  a  she-goat  ly- 
ing down  in  the  shade,  and  two  young  kids  sitting  by  her.  I 
caught  hold  of  Friday.  "Hold,"  says  I,  "stand  still,"  and 
made  signs  to  him  not  to  stir.  Immediately  I  presented  my 
piece,  shot  and  killed  one  of  the  kids.  The  poor  creature,  who 
had,  at  a  distance  indeed,  seen  me  kill  the  savage  his  enemy, 
but  did  not  know,  or  could  imagine,  how  it  was  done,  was 
sensibly  surprised,  trembled  and  shook,  and  looked  so  amazed, 
that  I  thought  he  would  have  sunk  down.  He  did  not  see  the 
kid  I  had  shot  at,  or  perceive  I  had  killed  it,  but  ripped  up 
his  waistcoat  to  feel  if  he  was  not  wounded;  and,  as  I  found 
presently,  thought  I  was  resolved  to  kill  him ;  for  he  came  and 
kneeled  down  to  me,  and  embracing  my  knees,  said  a  great 
many  things  I  did  not  understand;  but  I  could  easily  see 
that  the  meaning  was  to  pray  me  not  to  kill  him. 

[279] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  soon  found  a  way  to  convince  him  that  I  would  do  him 
no  harm ;  and  taking  him  up  by  the  hand,  laughed  at  him,  and 
pointing  to  the  kid  which  I  had  killed,  beckoned  to  him  to  run 
and  fetch  it,  which  he  did;  and  while  he  was  wondering,  and 
looking  to  see  how  the  creature  was  killed,  I  loaded  my  gun 
again ;  and  by  and  by  I  saw  a  great  fowl,  like  a  hawk,  sit  upon 
a  tree,  within  shot;  so,  to  let  Friday  understand  a  little  what 
I  would  do,  I  called  him  to  me  again,  pointing  at  the  fowl, 
which  was  indeed  a  parrot,  though  I  thought  it  had  been  a 
hawk;  I  say,  pointing  to  the  parrot,  and  to  my  gun,  and  to 
the  ground  under  the  parrot,  to  let  him  see  I  would  make  it 
fall,  I  made  him  understand  that  I  would  shoot  and  kill  that 
bird.  Accordingly  I  fired,  and  bade  him  look,  and  immedi- 
ately he  saw  the  parrot  fall.  He  stood  like  one  frightened 
again,  notwithstanding  all  I  had  said  to  him;  and  I  found  he 
was  the  more  amazed,  because  he  did  not  see  me  put  anything 
into  the  gun,  but  thought  that  there  must  be  some  wonderful 
fund  of  death  and  destruction  in  that  thing,  able  to  kill  man, 
beast,  bird,  or  anything  near  or  far  off;  and  the  astonishment 
this  created  in  him  was  such  as  could  not  wear  off  for  a  long 
time;  and  I  believe,  if  I  would  have  let  him,  he  would  have 
worshipped  me  and  my  gun.  As  for  the  gun  itself,  he  would 
not  so  much  as  touch  it  for  several  days  after;  but  would  speak 
to  it,  and  talk  to  it,  as  if  it  had  answered  him,  when  he  was  by 
himself;  which,  as  I  afterwards  learned  of  him,  was  to  desire  it 
not  to  kill  him. 

Well,  after  his  astonishment  was  a  little  over  at  this,  I 
pointed  to  him  to  run  and  fetch  the  bird  I  had  shot,  which  he 

[280] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

did,  but  stayed  some  time ;  for  the  parrot,  not  being  quite  dead, 
fluttered  a  good  way  off  from  the  place  where  she  fell.  How- 
ever, he  found  her,  took  her  up,  and  brought  her  to  me ;  and  as 
I  had  perceived  his  ignorance  about  the  gun  before,  I  took  this 
advantage  to  charge  the  gun  again,  and  not  let  him  see  me  do  it, 
that  I  might  be  ready  for  any  other  mark  that  might  present. 
But  nothing  more  offered  at  that  time ;  so  I  brought  home  the 
kid,  and  the  same  evening  I  took  the  skin  off,  and  cut  it  out  as 
well  as  I  could ;  and  having  a  pot  for  that  purpose,  I  boiled  or 
stewed  some  of  the  flesh,  and  made  some  very  good  broth ;  and 
after  I  had  begun  to  eat  some,  I  gave  some  to  my  man,  who 
seemed  very  glad  of  it,  and  liked  it  very  well;  but  that  which 
was  strangest  to  him,  was  to  see  me  eat  salt  with  it.  He  made 
a  sign  to  me  that  the  salt  wTas  not  good  to  eat,  and  putting  a 
little  into  his  own  mouth,  he  seemed  to  nauseate  it,  and  would 
spit  and  sputter  at  it,  washing  his  mouth  with  fresh  water  after 
it.  On  the  other  hand,  I  took  some  meat  in  my  mouth  without 
salt,  and  I  pretended  to  spit  and  sputter  for  want  of  salt,  as 
fast  as  he  had  done  at  the  salt.  But  it  would  not  do;  he  would 
never  care  for  salt  with  his  meat  or  in  his  broth ;  at  least,  not  a 
great  while,  and  then  but  a  very  little. 

Having  thus  fed  him  with  boiled  meat  and  broth,  I  was  re- 
solved to  feast  him  the  next  day  with  roasting  a  piece  of  the 
kid.  This  I  did  by  hanging  it  before  the  fire  in  a  string,  as  I 
had  seen  many  people  do  in  England,  setting  two  poles  up,  one 
on  each  side  of  the  fire,  and  one  cross  on  the  top,  and  tying  the 
string  to  the  cross  stick,  letting  the  meat  turn  continually. 

This  Friday  admired  very  much.     But  when  he  came  to  taste 

[281] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

the  flesh,  he  took  so  many  ways  to  tell  me  how  well  he  liked  it, 
that  I  could  not  but  understand  him ;  and  at  last  he  told  me  he 
would  never  eat  man's  flesh  any  more,  which  I  was  very  glad 
to  hear. 

The  next  day  I  set  him  to  work  to  beating  some  corn  out, 
and  sifting  it  in  the  manner  I  used  to  do,  as  I  observed  before ; 
and  he  soon  understood  how  to  do  it  as  well  as  I,  especially 
after  he  had  seen  what  the  meaning  of  it  was,  and  that  it  was 
to  make  bread  of;  for  after  that  I  let  him  see  me  make  my 
bread,  and  bake  it  too;  and  in  a  little  time  Friday  was  able  to 
do  all  the  work  for  me,  as  well  as  I  could  do  it  myself. 

I  began  now  to  consider  that,  having  two  mouths  to  feed 
instead  of  one,  I  must  provide  more  ground  for  my  harvest, 
and  plant  a  larger  quantity  of  corn  than  I  used  to  do;  so  I 
marked  out  a  larger  piece  of  land,  and  began  the  fence  in  the 
same  manner  as  before,  in  which  Friday  not  only  worked  very 
willingly  and  very  hard,  but  did  it  very  cheerfully;  and  I  told 
him  what  it  was  for ;  that  it  was  for  corn  to  make  more  bread, 
because  he  was  now  with  me,  and  that  I  might  have  enough  for 
him  and  myself  too.  He  appeared  very  sensible  of  that  part, 
and  let  me  know  that  he  thought  I  had  much  more  labor  upon 
me  on  his  account,  than  I  had  for  myself;  and  that  he  would 
work  the  harder  for  me,  if  I  would  tell  him  what  to  do. 

This  was  the  pleasantest  year  of  all  the  life  I  led  in  this 
place.  Friday  began  to  talk  pretty  well,  and  understand  the 
names  of  almost  everything  I  had  occasion  to  call  for,  and  of 
every  place  I  had  to  send  him  to,  and  talk  a  great  deal  to  me ; 
so  that,  in  short,  I  began  now  to  have  some  use  for  my  tongue 

[282] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

again,  which,  indeed,  I  had  very  little  occasion  for  before,  that 
is  to  say,  about  speech.  Besides  the  pleasure  of  talking  to  him, 
I  had  a  singular  satisfaction  in  the  fellow  himself.  His  simple, 
unfeigned  honesty  appeared  to  me  more  and  more  every  day, 
and  I  began  really  to  love  the  creature;  and,  on  his  side,  I  be- 
lieved he  loved  me  more  than  it  was  possible  for  him  ever  to 
love  anything  before. 

I  had  a  mind  once  to  try  if  he  had  any  hankering  inclina- 
tion for  his  own  country  again;  and  having  taught  him  Eng- 
lish so  well  that  he  could  answer  me  almost  any  questions,  I 
asked  him  whether  the  nation  that  he  belonged  to  never  con- 
quered in  battle?  At  which  he  smiled,  and  said,  "Yes,  yes,  we 
always  fight  the  better";  that  is,  he  meant,  always  get  the  bet- 
ter in  fight;  and  so  we  began  the  following  discourse:  "You 
always  fight  the  better,"  said  I.  "How  came  you  to  be  taken 
prisoner  then,  Friday?" 

Friday.     My  nation  beat  much  for  all  that. 

Master.  How  beat?  If  your  nation  beat  them,  how  came 
you  to  be  taken? 

Friday.  They  more  many  than  my  nation  in  the  place 
where  me  was ;  they  take  one,  two,  three,  and  me.  My  nation 
overheat  them  in  the  yonder  place,  where  me  no  was :  there  my 
nation  take  one,  two,  great  thousand. 

Master.  But  why  did  not  your  side  recover  you  from  the 
hands  of  your  enemies  then? 

Friday.  They  run  one,  two,  three  and  me,  and  make  go 
in  the  canoe ;  my  nation  have  no  canoe  that  time. 

Master.     Well,  Friday,  and  what  does  your  nation  do  with 

[283] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

the  men  they  take?     Do  they  carry  them  away  and  eat  them, 
as  these  did? 

Friday.     Yes,  my  nation  eat  mans  too;  eat  all  up. 

Master.     Where  do  they  carry  them? 

Friday.     Go  to  other  place,  where  they  think. 

Master.     Do  they  come  hither? 

Friday.     Yes,  yes,  they  come  hither ;  come  other  else  place. 

Master.     Have  you  been  here  with  them? 

Friday.  Yes,  I  been  here.  (Points  to  the  N.W.  side  of 
the  island,  which,  it  seems,  was  their  side.) 

By  this  I  understood  that  my  man  Friday  had  formerly  been 
among  the  savages  who  used  to  come  on  shore  on  the  farther 
part  of  the  island,  on  the  same  man-eating  occasions  that  he 
was  now  brought  for;  and,  some  time  after,  when  I  took  the 
courage  to  carry  him  to  that  side,  being  the  same  I  formerly 
mentioned,  he  presently  knew  the  place,  and  told  me  he  was 
there  once  when  they  ate  up  twenty  men,  two  women,  and  one 
child.  He  could  not  tell  twenty  in  English,  but  he  numbered 
them  by  laying  so  many  stones  in  a  row,  and  pointing  to  me  to 
tell  them  over. 

I  have  told  this  passage,  because  it  introduces  what  follows ; 
that  after  I  had  had  this  discourse  with  him,  I  asked  him  how 
far  it  was  from  our  island  to  the  shore,  and  whether  the  canoes 
were  not  often  lost.  He  told  me  there  was  no  danger,  no 
canoes  ever  lost;  but  that,  after  a  little  way  out  to  the  sea,  there 
was  a  current  and  a  wind,  always  one  way  in  the  morning,  the 
other  in  the  afternoon. 

This  I  understood  to  be  no  more  than  the  sets  of  the  tide, 

[284] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

as  going  out  or  coming  in ;  but  I  afterwards  understood  it  was 
occasioned  by  the  great  draught  and  reflux  of  the  mighty  river 
Orinoco,  in  the  mouth  or  the  gulf  of  which  river,  as  I  found 
afterwards,  our  island  lay;  and  this  land  which  I  perceived  to 
the  W.  and  N.W.  was  the  great  island  Trinidad,  on  the  north 
point  of  the  mouth  of  the  river.  I  asked  Friday  a  thousand 
questions  about  the  country,  the  inhabitants,  the  sea,  the  coast, 
and  what  nations  were  near.  He  told  me  all  he  knew,  with  the 
greatest  openness  imaginable.  I  asked  him  the  names  of  the 
several  nations  of  his  sort  of  people,  but  could  get  no  other 
name  than  Caribs ;  from  whence  I  easily  understood  that  these 
were  the  Caribbees,  which  our  maps  place  on  the  part  of  Amer- 
ica which  reaches  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  Orinoco  to 
Guiana,  and  onwards  to  St.  Martha.  He  told  me  that  up  a 
great  way  beyond  the  moon,  that  was,  beyond  the  setting  of 
the  moon,  which  must  be  W.  from  their  country,  there  dwelt 
white-bearded  men,  like  me,  and  pointed  to  my  great  whiskers, 
which  I  mentioned  before ;  and  that  they  had  killed  much  mans, 
that  was  his  word;  by  all  which  I  understood  he  meant  the 
Spaniards,  whose  cruelties  in  America  had  been  spread  over  the 
whole  countries,  and  was  remembered  by  all  the  nations  from 
father  to  son. 

I  inquired  if  he  could  tell  me  how  I  might  come  from  this 
island  and  get  among  those  white  men.  He  told  me,  "Yes, 
yes,  I  might  go  in  two  canoe."  I  could  not  understand  what 
he  meant,  or  make  him  describe  to  me  what  he  meant  by  two 
canoe;  till  at  last,  with  great  difficulty,  I  found  he  meant  it 
must  be  in  a  large  great  boat,  as  big  as  two  canoes. 

[285] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

This  part  of  Friday's  discourse  began  to  relish  with  me 
very  well;  and  from  this  time  I  entertained  some  hopes  that, 
one  time  or  other,  I  might  find  an  opportunity  to  make  my 
escape  from  this  place,  and  that  this  poor  savage  might  be  a 
means  to  help  me  to  do  it. 

During  the  long  time  that  Friday  had  now  been  with  me, 
and  that  he  began  to  speak  to  me,  and  understand  me,  I  was 
not  wanting  to  lay  a  foundation  of  religious  knowledge  in  his 
mind;  particularly  I  asked  him  one  time,  Who  made  him? 
The  poor  creature  did  not  understand  me  at  all,  but  thought 
I  had  asked  who  was  his  father.  But  I  took  it  by  another 
handle,  and  asked  him  who  made  the  sea,  the  ground  we  walked 
on,  and  the  hills  and  woods?  He  told  me  it  was  one  old  Bena- 
muckee,  that  lived  beyond  all.  He  could  describe  nothing  of 
this  great  person,  but  that  he  was  very  old,  much  older,  he  said, 
than  the  sea  or  the  land,  than  the  moon  or  the  stars.  I  asked 
him  then,  if  this  old  person  had  made  all  things,  why  did  not 
all  things  worship  him?  He  looked  very  grave,  and  with  a 
perfect  look  of  innocence  said,  "All  things  do  say  O  to  him." 
I  asked  him  if  the  people  who  die  in  his  country  went  away 
anywhere?  He  said,  "Yes,  they  all  went  to  Benamuckee." 
Then  I  asked  him  whether  these  they  ate  up  went  thither  too? 
He  said  "Yes." 

From  these  things  I  began  to  instruct  him  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  true  God.  I  told  him  that  the  great  Maker  of  all  things 
lived  up  there,  pointing  up  towards  heaven;  that  He  governs 
the  world  by  the  same  power  and  providence  by  which  He  made 
it;  that  He  was  omnipotent,  could  do  everything  for  us,  give 

[286] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

everything  to  us,  take  everything  from  us ;  and  thus,  by  degrees, 
I  opened  his  eyes.  He  listened  with  great  attention,  and  re- 
ceived with  pleasure  the  notion  of  Jesus  Christ  being  sent  to 
redeem  us,  and  of  the  manner  of  making  our  prayers  to  God, 
and  His  being  able  to  hear  us,  even  into  heaven.  He  told  me 
one  day  that  if  our  God  could  hear  us  up  beyond  the  sun,  He 
must  needs  be  a  greater  God  than  their  Benamuckee,  who  lived 
but  a  little  way  off,  and  yet  could  not  hear  till  they  went  up  to 
the  great  mountains  where  he  dwelt  to  speak  to  him.  I  asked 
him  if  he  ever  went  thither  to  speak  to  him?  He  said,  No ;  they 
never  went  that  were  young  men ;  none  went  thither  but  the  old 
men,  whom  he  called  their  Oowokakee,  that  is,  as  I  made  him 
explain  it  to  me,  their  religious,  or  clergy ;  and  that  they  went 
to  say  O  (so  he  called  saying  prayers),  and  then  came  back, 
and  told  them  what  Benamuckee  said.  But  this  I  observed 
that  there  is  priestcraft  even  amongst  the  most  blinded,  igno- 
rant pagans  in  the  world;  and  the  policy  of  making  a  secret 
religion  in  order  to  preserve  the  veneration  of  the  people  to 
the  clergy  is  not  only  to  be  found  in  the  Roman,  but  perhaps 
among  all  religions  in  the  world,  even  among  the  most  brutish 
and  barbarous  savages. 

I  endeavored  to  clear  up  this  fraud  to  my  man  Friday,  and 
told  him  that  the  pretense  of  their  old  men  going  up  to  the 
mountains  to  say  O  to  their  god  Benamuckee  was  a  cheat,  and 
their  bringing  word  from  thence  what  he  said  was  much  more 
so;  that  if  they  met  with  any  answer,  or  spoke  with  any  one 
there,  it  must  be  with  an  evil  spirit;  and  then  I  entered  into  a 
long  discourse  with  him  about  the  devil,  the  original  of  him,  his 

[287J 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

rebellion  against  God,  his  enmity  to  man,  the  reason  of  it,  his 
setting  himself  up  in  the  dark  parts  of  the  world  to  be  wor- 
shipped instead  of  God,  and  as  God,  and  the  many  stratagems 
he  made  use  of  to  delude  mankind  to  their  ruin;  how  he  had  a 
secret  access  to  our  passions  and  to  our  affections,  to  adapt  his 
snares  so  to  our  inclinations,  as  to  cause  us  even  to  be  our  own 
tempters,  and  to  run  upon  our  destruction  by  our  own  choice. 

I  found  it  was  not  so  easy  to  imprint  right  notions  in  his 
mind  about  the  devil,  as  it  was  about  the  being  of  a  God.  Na- 
ture assisted  all  my  arguments  to  evidence  to  him  even  the 
necessity  of  a  great  First  Cause  and  overruling,  governing 
Power,  a  secret  directing  Providence,  and  of  the  equity  and 
justice  of  paying  homage  to  Him  that  made  us,  and  the  like. 

But  there  appeared  nothing  of  all  this  in  the  notion  of  an  evil 
spirit;  of  his  original,  his  being,  his  nature,  and  above  all,  of 
his  inclination  to  do  evil,  and  to  draw  us  in  to  do  so  too ;  and  the 
poor  creature  puzzled  me  once  in  such  a  manner  by  a  question 
merely  natural  and  innocent,  that  I  scarce  knew  what  to  say 
to  him.  I  had  been  talking  a  great  deal  to  him  of  the  power 
of  God,  His  omnipotence,  His  dreadful  aversion  to  sin,  His 
being  a  consuming  fire  to  the  workers  of  iniquity;  how,  as  He 
had  made  us  all,  He  could  destroy  us  and  all  the  world  in  a 
moment;  and  he  listened  with  great  seriousness  to  me  all  the 
while. 

After  this  I  had  been  telling  him  how  the  devil  was  God's 
enemy  in  the  hearts  of  men,  and  used  all  his  malice  and  skill 
to  defeat  the  good  designs  of  Providence,  and  to  ruin  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  in  the  world,  and  the  like.     "Well,"  says  Friday, 

[288] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

"but  you  say  God  is  so  strong,  so  great;  is  He  no  much  strong, 
much  might  as  the  devil?"  "Yes,  yes,"  says  I,  "Friday,  God  is 
stronger  than  the  devil ;  God  is  above  the  devil,  and  therefore 
we  pray  to  God  to  tread  him  down  under  our  feet,  and  enable 
us  to  resist  his  temptation,  and  quench  his  fiery  darts."  "But," 
says  he  again,  "if  God  much  strong,  much  might  as  the  devil, 
why  God  no  kill  the  devil,  so  make  him  no  more  do  wicked?" 

I  was  strangely  surprised  at  his  question;  and  after  all, 
though  I  was  now  an  old  man,  yet  I  was  but  a  young  doctor, 
and  ill  enough  qualified  for  a  casuist,  or  a  solver  of  difficulties ; 
and  at  first  I  could  not  tell  what  to  say ;  so  I  pretended  not  to 
hear  him,  and  asked  him  what  he  said?  But  he  was  too  earnest 
for  an  answer  to  forget  his  question,  so  that  he  repeated  it  in 
the  very  same  broken  words  as  above.  By  this  time  I  had 
recovered  myself  a  little,  and  I  said,  "God  will  at  last  punish 
him  severely;  he  is  reserved  for  the  judgment,  and  is  to  be  cast 
into  the  bottomless  pit,  to  dwell  with  everlasting  fire."  This 
did  not  satisfy  Friday;  but  he  returned  upon  me,  repeating  my 
words  "Reserve  at  last!  me  no  understand;  but  why  not  kill  the 
devil  now?  not  kill  great  ago?"  "You  may  as  well  ask  me," 
said  I,  "why  God  does  not  kill  you  and  me,  when  we  do  wicked 
things  here  that  offend  Him ;  we  are  preserved  to  repent  and 
be  pardoned."  He  muses  awhile  at  this.  "Well,  well,"  says 
he,  mighty  affectionately,  "that  well;  so  you,  I,  devil,  all 
wicked,  all  preserve,  repent,  God  pardon  all."  Here  I  was  run 
down  again  by  him  to  the  last  degree,  and  it  was  a  testimony 
to  me  how  the  mere  notions  of  nature,  though  they  will  guide 
reasonable  creatures  to  the  knowledge  of  a  God,  and  of  a  wor- 

[289] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

ship  or  homage  due  to  the  supreme  being  of  God,  as  the  conse- 
quence of  our  nature,  yet  nothing  but  Divine  revelation  can 
form  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  a  redemption  pur- 
chased for  us,  of  a  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  and  of  an 
Intercessor  at  the  footstool  of  God's  throne ;  I  say,  nothing  but 
a  revelation  from  heaven  can  form  these  in  the  soul,  and  that 
therefore  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  I 
mean  the  Word  of  God,  and  the  Spirit  of  God,  promised  for 
the  guide  and  sanctifier  of  His  people,  are  the  absolutely  neces- 
sary instructors  of  the  souls  of  men  in  the  saving  knowledge  of 
God,  and  the  means  of  salvation. 

I  therefore  diverted  the  present  discourse  between  me  and 
my  man,  rising  up  hastily,  as  upon  some  sudden  occasion  of 
going  out;  then  sending  him  for  something  a  good  way  off,  I 
seriously  prayed  to  God  that  He  would  enable  me  to  instruct 
savingly  this  poor  savage,  assisting,  by  His  Spirit,  the  heart  of 
the  poor  ignorant  creature  to  receive  the  light  of  the  knowledge 
of  God  in  Christ,  reconciling  him  to  Himself,  and  would  guide 
me  to  speak  so  to  him  from  the  Word  of  God  as  his  conscience 
might  be  convinced,  his  eyes  opened,  and  his  soul  saved.  When 
he  came  again  to  me,  I  entered  into  a  long  discourse  with  him 
upon  the  subject  of  the  redemption  of  man  by  the  Savior  of 
the  world,  and  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  preached  from 
heaven,  viz.,  of  repentance  towards  God,  and  faith  in  our 
blessed  Lord  Jesus.  I  then  explained  to  him  as  well  as  I  could 
why  our  blessed  Redeemer  took  not  on  Him  the  nature  of 
angels,  but  the  seed  of  Abraham ;  and  how,  for  that  reason,  the 
fallen  angels  had  no  share  in  the  redemption;  that  He  came 

[290] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

only  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,  and  the  like. 

I  had,  God  knows,  more  sincerity  than  knowledge  in  all  the 
methods  I  took  for  this  poor  creature's  instruction,  and  must 
acknowledge,  what  I  believe  all  that  act  upon  the  same  prin- 
ciple will  find,  that  in  laying  things  open  to  him,  I  really  in- 
formed and  instructed  myself  in  many  things  that  either  I  did 
not  know,  or  had  not  fully  considered  before,  but  which  oc- 
curred naturally  to  my  mind  upon  my  searching  into  them  for 
the  information  of  this  poor  savage.  And  I  had  more  affection 
in  my  inquiry  after  things  upon  this  occasion  than  ever  I  felt 
before ;  so  that  whether  this  poor  wild  wretch  was  the  better  for 
me  or  no,  I  had  great  reason  to  be  thankful  that  ever  he  came 
to  me.  My  grief  set  lighter  upon  me,  my  habitation  grew 
comfortable  to  me  beyond  measure ;  and  wThen  I  reflected,  that 
in  this  solitary  life  which  I  had  been  confined  to,  I  had  not 
only  been  moved  myself  to  look  up  to  heaven,  and  to  seek  to 
the  Hand  that  had  brought  me  there,  but  was  now  to  be  made 
an  instrument,  under  Providence,  to  save  the  life,  and,  for 
aught  I  know,  the  soul  of  a  poor  savage,  and  bring  him  to  the 
true  knowledge  of  religion,  and  of  the  Christian  doctrine,  that 
he  might  know  Christ  Jesus,  to  know  whom  is  life  eternal; — I 
say,  when  I  reflected  upon  all  these  things,  a  secret  joy  ran 
through  every  part  of  my  soul,  and  I  frequently  rejoiced  that 
ever  I  was  brought  to  this  place,  which  I  had  so  often  thought 
the  most  dreadful  of  all  afflictions  that  could  possibly  have 
befallen  me. 

In  this  thankful  frame  I  continued  all  the  remainder  of  my 
time,  and  the  conversation  which  employed  the  hours  between 

[291] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

Friday  and  me  was  such,  as  made  the  three  years  which  we 
lived  there  together  perfectly  and  completely  happy,  if  any 
such  thing  as  complete  happiness  can  be  formed  in  a  sublunary 
state.  The  savage  was  now  a  good  Christian,  a  much  better 
than  I;  though  I  have  reason  to  hope,  and  bless  God  for  it, 
that  we  were  equally  penitent,  and  comforted,  restored  peni- 
tents. We  had  here  the  Word  of  God  to  read,  and  no  farther 
off  from  His  Spirit  to  instruct  than  if  we  had  been  in  England. 

I  always  applied  myself  to  reading  the  Scripture,  to  let  him 
know,  as  well  as  I  could,  the  meaning  of  what  I  read;  and  he 
again,  by  his  serious  inquiries  and  questions,  made  me,  as  I  said 
before,  a  much  better  scholar  in  the  Scripture-knowledge  than 
I  should  ever  have  been  by  my  own  private  mere  reading. 
Another  thing  I  cannot  refrain  from  observing  here  also,  from 
experience  in  this  retired  part  of  my  life,  viz.,  how  infinite  and 
inexpressible  a  blessing  it  is  that  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  of 
the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  Christ  Jesus,  is  so  plainly  laid 
down  in  the  Word  of  God,  so  easy  to  be  received  and  under- 
stood; that  as  the  bare  reading  the  Scripture  made  me  capable 
of  understanding  enough  of  my  duty  to  carry  me  directly  on  to 
the  great  work  of  repentance  for  my  sins,  and  laying  hold  of  a 
Savior  for  life  and  salvation,  to  a  stated  reformation  in  prac- 
tice, and  obedience  to  all  God's  commands,  and  this  without  any 
teacher  or  instructor  (I  mean  human) ;  so  the  same  plain  in- 
struction sufficiently  served  to  the  enlightening  this  savage 
creature,  and  bringing  him  to  be  such  a  Christian,  as  I  have 
known  few  equal  to  him  in  my  life. 

As  to  all  the  disputes,  wranglings,  strife,  and  contention 

[292] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

which  has  happened  in  the  world  about  religion,  whether  nice- 
ties in  doctrines,  or  schemes  of  Church  government,  they  were 
all  perfectly  useless  to  us ;  as,  for  aught  I  can  yet  see,  they  have 
been  to  all  the  rest  in  the  world.  We  had  the  sure  guide  to 
heaven,  viz.,  the  Word  of  God;  and  we  had,  blessed  be  God, 
comfortable  views  of  the  Spirit  of  God  teaching  and  instructing 
us  by  His  Word,  leading  us  into  all  truth,  and  making  us  both 
willing  and  obedient  to  the  instruction  of  His  Word;  and  I 
cannot  see  the  least  use  that  the  greatest  knowledge  of  the  dis- 
puted points  in  religion,  which  have  made  such  confusions  in 
the  world  would  have  been  to  us  if  we  could  have  obtained  it. 
But  I  must  go  on  with  the  historical  part  of  things  and  take 
every  part  in  its  order. 


[293] 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

Robinson  and  Friday  Build  a  Canoe  to  Carry  them  to  Friday's  Country 
— Their  Scheme  Prevented  by  the  Arrival  of  a  Party  of  Savages 

AFTER  Friday  and  I  became  more  intimately  ac- 
quainted and  that  he  could  understand  almost  all  I 
said  to  him,  and  speak  fluently,  though  in  broken  Eng- 
lish, to  me,  I  acquainted  him  with  my  own  story,  or  at  least  so 
much  of  it  as  related  to  my  coming  into  the  place;  how  I  had 
lived  there,  and  how  long.  I  let  him  into  the  mystery,  for  such 
it  was  to  him,  of  gunpowder  and  bullet,  and  taught  him  how  to 
shoot ;  I  gave  him  a  knife,  which  he  was  wonderfully  delighted 
with,  and  I  made  him  a  belt,  with  a  frog  hanging  to  it,  such  as 
in  England  we  wear  hangers  in;  and  in  the  frog,  instead  of  a 
hanger,  I  gave  him  a  hatchet,  which  was  not  only  as  good  a 
weapon,  in  some  cases,  but  much  more  useful  upon  other  occa- 
sions. 

I  described  to  him  the  country  of  Europe,  and  particularly 
England,  which  I  came  from ;  how  we  lived,  how  we  worshipped 
God,  how  we  behaved  to  one  another,  and  how  we  traded  in 
ships  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  I  gave  him  an  account  of  the 
wreck  which  I  had  been  on  board  of,  and  showed  him,  as  near 
as  I  could,  the  place  where  she  lay;  but  she  was  all  beaten  in 
pieces  before,  and  gone. 

I  showed  him  the  ruins  of  our  boat,  which  we  lost  when  we 

[294] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

escaped,  and  which  I  could  not  stir  with  my  whole  strength 
then,  but  was  now  fallen  almost  all  to  pieces.  Upon  seeing  this 
boat,  Friday  stood  musing  a  great  while,  and  said  nothing.  I 
asked  him  what  it  was  he  studied  upon.  At  last  says  he,  "Me 
see  such  boat  like  come  to  place  at  my  nation." 

I  did  not  understand  him  a  good  while ;  but  at  last,  when  I 
had  examined  farther  into  it,  I  understood  by  him  that  a  boat 
such  as  that  had  been,  came  on  shore  upon  the  country  where 
he  lived ;  that  is,  as  he  explained  it,  was  driven  thither  by  stress 
of  weather. 

I  presently  imagined  that  some  European  ship  must  have 
been  cast  awa}r  upon  their  coast,  and  the  boat  might  get  loose 
and  drive  ashore;  but  was  so  dull,  that  I  never  once  thought 
of  men  making  escape  from  a  wreck  thither,  much  less  whence 
they  might  come;  so  I  only  inquired  after  a  description  of  the 
boat. 

Friday  described  the  boat  to  me  well  enough;  but  brought 
me  better  to  understand  him  when  he  added  with  some  warmth, 
"We  save  the  white  mans  from  drown."  Then  I  presently 
asked  him  if  there  was  any  white  mans,  as  he  called  them,  in 
the  boat.  "Yes,"  he  said,  "the  boat  full  of  white  mans."  I 
asked  him  how  many.  He  told  upon  his  fingers  seventeen.  I 
asked  him  then  what  became  of  them.  He  told  me,  "They  live, 
they  dwell  at  my  nation." 

This  put  new  thoughts  into  my  head ;  for  I  presently  imag- 
ined that  these  might  be  the  men  belonging  to  the  ship  that  was 
cast  away  in  sight  of  my  island,  as  I  now  call  it ;  and  who,  after 
the  ship  was  struck  on  the  rock,  and  they  saw  her  inevitably 

[295] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

lost,  had  saved  themselves  in  their  boat,  and  were  landed  upon 
that  wild  shore  among  the  savages. 

Upon  this  I  inquired  of  him  more  critically  what  was  be- 
come of  them.  He  assured  me  they  lived  still  there;  that  they 
had  been  there  about  four  years;  that  the  savages  let  them 
alone,  and  gave  them  victuals  to  live.  I  asked  him  how  it  came 
to  pass  they  did  not  kill  them,  and  eat  them.  He  said,  "No, 
they  make  brother  with  them;"  that  is,  as  I  understood  him,  a 
truce ;  and  then  he  added,  "They  no  eat  mans  but  when  make 
the  war  fight;"  that  is  to  say,  they  never  eat  any  men  but  such 
as  come  to  fight  with  them  and  are  taken  in  battle. 

It  was  after  this  some  considerable  time,  that  being  on  the 
top  of  the  hill,  at  the  east  side  of  the  island  ( from  whence,  as  I 
have  said,  I  had  in  a  clear  day  discovered  the  main  or  continent 
of  America) ,  Friday,  the  weather  being  very  serene,  looks  very 
earnestly  towards  the  mainland,  and,  in  a  kind  of  surprise,  falls 
a- jumping  and  dancing,  and  calls  out  to  me,  for  I  was  at  some 
distance  from  him.  I  asked  him  what  was  the  matter?  "O 
joy!"  says  he,  "O  glad!  there  see  my  country,  there  my  nation!" 

I  observed  an  extraordinary  sense  of  pleasure  appeared  in 
his  face,  and  his  eyes  sparkled,  and  his  countenance  discovered 
a  strange  eagerness,  as  if  he  had  a  mind  to  be  in  his  own  coun- 
try again;  and  this  observation  of  mine  put  a  great  many 
thoughts  into  me,  which  made  me  at  first  not  so  easy  about  my 
new  man  Friday  as  I  was  before;  and  I  made  no  doubt  but 
that  if  Friday  could  get  back  to  his  own  nation  again,  he  would 
not  only  forget  all  his  religion,  but  all  his  obligation  to  me ;  and 
would  be  forward  enough  to  give  his  countrymen  an  account  of 

f296] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

me,  and  come  back  perhaps  with  a  hundred  or  two  of  them,  and 
make  a  feast  upon  me,  at  which  he  might  be  as  merry  as  he  used 
to  be  with  those  of  his  enemies,  when  they  were  taken  in  war. 

But  I  wronged  the  poor  honest  creature  very  much,  for 
which  I  was  very  sorry  afterwards.  However,  as  my  jealousy 
increased,  and  held  me  some  weeks,  I  was  a  little  more  circum- 
spect, and  not  so  familiar  and  kind  to  him  as  before ;  in  which  I 
was  certainly  in  the  wrong  too,  the  honest,  grateful  creature 
having  no  thought  about  it  but  what  consisted  with  the  best 
principles,  both  as  a  religious  Christian  and  as  a  grateful  friend, 
as  appeared  afterwards  to  my  full  satisfaction. 

While  my  jealousy  of  him  lasted,  you  may  be  sure  I  was 
every  day  pumping  him,  to  see  if  he  would  discover  any  of  the 
new  thoughts  which  I  suspected  were  in  him;  but  I  found 
everything  he  said  was  so  honest  and  so  innocent,  that  I  could 
find  nothing  to  nourish  my  suspicion;  and,  in  spite  of  all  my 
uneasiness,  he  made  me  at  last  entirely  his  own  again,  nor  did 
he  in  the  least  perceive  that  I  was  uneasy,  and  therefore  I  could 
not  suspect  him  of  deceit. 

One  day,  walking  up  the  same  hill,  but  the  weather  being 
hazy  at  sea,  so  that  we  could  not  see  the  continent,  I  called  to 
him,  and  said,  "Friday,  do  not  you  wish  yourself  in  your  own 
country,  your  own  nation?"  "Yes,"  he  said,  "I  be  much  O 
glad  to  be  at  my  own  nation."  "What  would  you  do  there?" 
said  I.  "Would  you  turn  wild  again,  eat  men's  flesh  again, 
and  be  a  savage  as  you  were  before?"  He  looked  full  of  con- 
cern, and  shaking  his  head  said,  "No,  no;  Friday  tell  them  to 
live  good;  tell  them  to  pray  God;  tell  them  to  eat  corn-bread, 

[297] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

cattle-flesh,  milk,  no  eat  man  again."  "Why  then,"  said  I  to 
him,  "they  will  kill  you."  He  looked  grave  at  that,  and  then 
said,  "No,  they  no  kill  me,  they  willing  love  learn."  He  meant 
by  this  they  would  be  willing  to  learn.  He  added,  they  learned 
much  of  the  bearded  mans  that  come  in  the  boat.  Then  I 
asked  him  if  he  would  go  back  to  them?  He  smiled  at  that, 
and  told  me  he  could  not  swim  so  far.  I  told  him  I  would 
make  a  canoe  for  him.  He  told  me  he  would  go,  if  I  would  go 
with  him.  "I  go?"  says  I;  "why,  they  will  eat  me  if  I  come 
there."  "No,  no,"  says  he,  "me  make  they  no  eat  you;  me 
make  they  much  love  you."  He  meant,  he  would  tell  them 
how  I  had  killed  his  enemies,  and  saved  his  life,  and  so  he 
would  make  them  love  me.  Then  he  told  me,  as  well  as  he 
could,  how  kind  they  were  to  seventeen  white  men,  or  bearded 
men,  as  he  called  them,  who  came  on  shore  there  in  distress. 

From  this  time  I  confess  I  had  a  mind  to  venture  over,  and 
see  if  I  could  possibly  join  with  these  bearded  men,  who,  I  made 
no  doubt,  were  Spaniards  or  Portuguese;  not  doubting  that,  if 
I  could,  we  might  find  some  method  to  escape  from  thence, 
being  upon  the  continent,  and  a  good  company  together,  better 
than  I  could  from  an  island  forty  miles  off  the  shore,  and  alone, 
without  help.  So,  after  some  days,  I  took  Friday  to  work 
again,  by  way  of  discourse,  and  told  him  I  would  give  him  a 
boat  to  go  back  to  his  own  nation;  and  accordingly  I  carried 
him  to  my  frigate,  which  lay  on  the  other  side  of  the  island,  and 
having  cleared  it  of  water,  for  I  always  kept  it  sunk  in  the 
water,  I  brought  it  out,  showed  it  him,  and  we  both  went  into  it. 

I  found  he  was  a  most  dexterous  fellow  at  managing  it,  and 

[298] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

would  make  it  go  almost  as  swift  and  fast  again  as  I  could. 
So  when  he  was  in  I  said  to  him,  "Well  now,  Friday,  shall  we 
go  to  your  nation?"  He  looked  very  dull  at  my  saying  so, 
which,  it  seems,  was  because  he  thought  the  boat  too  small  to 
go  so  far.  I  told  him  then  I  had  a  bigger;  so  the  next  day  I 
went  to  the  place  where  the  first  boat  lay  which  I  had  made, 
but  which  I  could  not  get  into  the  water.  He  said  that  was 
big  enough ;  but  then,  as  I  had  taken  no  care  of  it,  and  it  had 
lain  two  or  three  and  twenty  years  there,  the  sun  had  split  and 
dried  it,  that  it  was  in  a  manner  rotten.  Friday  told  me  such 
a  boat  would  do  very  well,  and  would  carry  "much  enough 
victual,  drink,  bread;"  that  was  his  way  of  talking. 

Upon  the  whole,  I  was  by  this  time  so  fixed  upon  my  design 
of  going  over  with  him  to  the  continent,  that  I  told  him  we 
would  go  and  make  one  as  big  as  that,  and  he  should  go  home 
in  it.  He  answered  not  one  word,  but  looked  very  grave  and 
sad.  I  asked  him  what  was  the  matter  with  him?  He  asked 
me  again  thus,  "Why  you  angry  mad  with  Friday?  what  me 
done?"  I  asked  him  what  he  meant.  I  told  him  I  was  not 
angry  with  him  at  all.  "No  angry!  no  angry!"  says  he,  re- 
peating the  words  several  times.  "Why  send  Friday  home 
away  to  my  nation?"  "Why,"  says  I,  "Friday,  did  you  not 
say  you  wished  you  were  there?"  "Yes,  yes,"  says  he,  "wish 
be  both  there,  no  wish  Friday  there,  no  master  there."  In  a 
word,  he  would  not  think  of  going  there  without  me.  "I  go 
there,  Friday!"  says  I;  "what  shall  I  do  there?"  He  turned 
very  quick  upon  me  at  this:  "You  do  great  deal  much  good," 
says  he;  "you  teach  wild  mans  to  be  good,  sober,  tame  mans; 

[299] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

you  tell  them  know  God,  pray  God,  and  live  new  life."  "Alas ! 
Friday,"  says  I,  "thou  knowest  not  what  thou  sayest.  I  am 
but  an  ignorant  man  myself."  "Yes,  yes,"  says  he,  "you 
teachee  me  good,  you  teachee  them  good."  "No,  no,  Friday," 
says  I,  "you  shall  go  without  me;  leave  me  here  to  live  by  my- 
self, as  I  did  before."  He  looked  confused  again  at  that  word, 
and  running  to  one  of  the  hatchets  which  he  used  to  wear,  he 
takes  it  up  hastily,  comes  and  gives  it  me.  "What  must  I  do 
with  this?"  says  I  to  him.  "You  take  kill  Friday,"  says  he. 
"What  must  I  kill  you  for?"  said  I  again.  He  returns  very 
quick,  "What  you  send  Friday  away  for?  Take  kill  Friday, 
no  send  Friday  away."  This  he  spoke  so  earnestly,  that  I  saw 
tears  stand  in  his  eyes.  In  a  word,  I  so  plainly  discovered  the 
utmost  affection  in  him  to  me,  and  a  firm  resolution  in  him, 
that  I  told  him  then,  and  often  after,  that  I  would  never  send 
him  away  from  me  if  he  was  willing  to  stay  with  me. 

Upon  the  whole,  as  I  found  by  all  his  discourse  a  settled 
affection  to  me,  and  that  nothing  should  part  him  from  me,  so 
I  found  all  the  foundation  of  his  desire  to  go  to  his  own  country 
was  laid  in  his  ardent  affection  to  the  people,  and  his  hopes  of 
my  doing  them  good ;  a  thing  which,  as  I  had  no  notion  of  my- 
self, so  I  had  not  the  least  thought  or  intention  or  desire  of 
undertaking  it.  But  still  I  found  a  strong  inclination  to  my 
attempting  an  escape,  as  above,  founded  on  the  supposition 
gathered  from  the  discourse,  viz.,  that  there  were  seventeen 
bearded  men  there;  and,  therefore,  without  any  more  delay  I 
went  to  work  with  Friday  to  find  out  a  great  tree  proper  to  fell, 
and  make  a  large  periagua,  or  canoe,  to  undertake  the  voyage. 

[300] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

There  were  trees  enough  in  the  island  to  have  built  a  little  fleet, 
not  of  periaguas  and  canoes,  but  even  of  good  large  vessels. 
But  the  main  thing  I  looked  at  was,  to  get  one  so  near  the 
water  that  we  might  launch  it  when  it  was  made,  to  avoid  the 
mistake  I  committed  at  first. 

At  last  Friday  pitched  upon  a  tree,  for  I  found  he  knew 
much  better  than  I  what  kind  of  wood  was  fittest  for  it;  nor 
can  I  tell,  to  this  day,  what  wood  to  call  the  tree  we  cut  down, 
except  that  it  was  very  like  the  tree  we  call  fustic,  or  between 
that  and  the  Nicaragua  wood,  for  it  was  much  of  the  same  color 
and  smell.  Friday  was  for  burning  the  hollow  or  cavity  of 
this  tree  out,  to  make  it  for  a  boat,  but  I  showed  him  how  rather 
to  cut  it  out  with  tools ;  which,  after  I  had  showed  him  how  to 
use,  he  did  very  handily ;  and  in  about  a  month's  hard  labor  we 
finished  it,  and  made  it  very  handsome;  especially  when,  with 
our  axes,  which  I  showed  him  how  to  handle,  we  cut  and  hewed 
the  outside  into  the  true  shape  of  a  boat.  After  this,  however, 
it  cost  us  near  a  fortnight's  time  to  get  her  along,  as  it  were 
inch  by  inch,  upon  great  rollers  into  the  water;  but  when  she 
was  in,  she  would  have  carried  twenty  men  with  great  ease. 

When  she  was  in  the  water,  and  though  she  was  so  big,  it 
amazed  me  to  see  svith  what  dexterity,  and  how  swift  my  man 
Friday  would  manage  her,  turn  her,  and  paddle  her  along.  So 
I  asked  him  if  he  would,  and  if  we  might  venture  over  in  her. 
"Yes,"  he  said,  "he  venture  over  in  her  very  well,  though  great 
blow  wind."  However,  I  had  a  farther  design  that  he  knew 
nothing  of,  and  that  was  to  make  a  mast  and  sail,  and  to  fit  her 
with  an  anchor  and  cable.     As  to  a  mast,  that  was  easy  enough 

[301] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

to  get ;  so  I  pitched  upon  a  straight  young  cedar  tree,  which  I 
found  near  the  place,  and  which  there  was  great  plenty  of  in 
the  island ;  and  I  set  Friday  to  work  to  cut  it  down,  and  gave 
him  directions  how  to  shape  and  order  it.  But  as  to  the  sail, 
that  was  my  particular  care.  I  knew  I  had  old  sails,  or  rather 
pieces  of  old  sails  enough ;  but  as  I  had  had  them  now  twenty- 
six  years  by  me,  and  had  not  been  very  careful  to  preserve 
them,  not  imagining  that  I  should  ever  have  this  kind  of  use  for 
them,  I  did  not  doubt  but  they  were  all  rotten,  and,  indeed, 
most  of  them  were  so.  However,  I  found  two  pieces  which 
appeared  pretty  good,  and  with  these  I  went  to  work,  and  with 
a  great  deal  of  pains,  and  awkward  tedious  stitching  (you  may 
be  sure)  for  want  of  needles,  I,  at  length,  made  a  three- 
cornered  ugly  thing,  like  what  we  call  in  England  a  shoulder- 
of -mutton  sail,  to  go  with  a  boom  at  bottom,  and  a  little  short 
sprit  at  the  top,  such  as  usually  our  ships'  longboats  sail  with, 
and  such  as  I  best  knew  how  to  manage ;  because  it  was  such  a 
one  as  I  had  to  the  boat  in  which  I  made  my  escape  from  Bar- 
bary,  as  related  in  the  first  part  of  my  story. 

I  was  near  two  months  performing  this  last  work,  viz., 
rigging  and  fitting  my  mast  and  sails ;  for  I  finished  them  very 
complete,  making  a  small  stay,  and  a  sail,  or  foresail,  to  it,  to 
assist,  if  we  should  turn  to  windward;  and,  which  was  more 
than  all,  I  fixed  a  rudder  to  the  stern  of  her  to  steer  with ;  and 
though  I  was  but  a  bungling  shipwright  yet  as  I  knew  the  use- 
fulness, and  even  necessity,  of  such  a  thing,  I  applied  myself 
with  so  much  pains  to  do  it,  that  at  last  I  brought  it  to  pass; 
though,  considering  the  many  dull  contrivances  I  had  for  it  that 

[302] 


©  C.    B.   C. 


"  —  we  cut  and  hewed  the  outside  into  the  true  shape  of  a  boat 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

failed,  I  think  it  cost  me  almost  as  much  labor  as  making  the 
boat. 

After  all  this  was  done  too,  I  had  my  man  Friday  to  teach 
as  to  what  belonged  to  the  navigation  of  my  boat;  for  though 
he  knew  very  well  how  to  paddle  a  canoe,  he  knew  nothing  what 
belonged  to  a  sail  and  a  rudder ;  and  was  the  most  amazed  when 
he  saw  me  work  the  boat  to  and  again  in  the  sea  by  the  rudder, 
and  how  the  sail  jibed,  and  filled  this  way,  or  that  way,  as  the 
course  we  sailed  changed ;  I  say,  when  he  saw  this,  he  stood  like 
one  astonished  and  amazed.  However,  with  a  little  use  I  made 
all  these  things  familiar  to  him,  and  he  became  an  expert  sailor, 
except  that  as  to  the  compass  I  could  make  him  understand 
very  little  of  that.  On  the  other  hand,  as  there  was  very  little 
cloud3T  weather,  and  seldom  or  never  any  fogs  in  those  parts, 
there  was  the  less  occasion  for  a  compass,  seeing  the  stars  were 
always  to  be  seen  by  night,  and  the  shore  by  day,  except  in  the 
rainy  seasons,  and  then  nobody  cared  to  stir  abroad,  either  by 
land  or  sea. 

I  was  now  entered  on  the  seven  and  twentieth  year  of  my 
captivity  in  this  place;  though  the  three  last  years  that  I  had 
this  creature  with  me  ought  rather  to  be  left  out  of  the  account, 
my  habitation  being  quite  of  another  kind  than  in  all  the  rest 
of  the  time.  I  kept  the  anniversary  of  my  landing  here  with 
the  same  thankfulness  to  God  for  His  mercies  as  at  first;  and 
if  I  had  such  cause  of  acknowledgement  at  first,  I  had  much 
more  so  now,  having  such  additional  testimonies  of  the  care  of 
Providence  over  me,  and  the  great  hopes  I  had  of  being  effec- 
tually and  speedily  delivered;  for  I  had  an  invincible  imp  res- 

[303] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

sion  upon  my  thoughts  that  my  deliverance  was  at  hand,  and 
that  I  should  not  be  another  year  in  this  place.  However,  I 
went  on  with  my  husbandry,  digging,  planting,  fencing,  as 
usual.  I  gathered  and  cured  my  grapes,  and  did  every  neces- 
sary thing  as  before. 

The  rainy  season  was,  in  the  meantime,  upon  me,  when  I 
kept  more  within  doors  than  at  other  times;  so  I  had  stowed 
our  new  vessel  as  secure  as  we  could,  bringing  her  up  into  the 
creek,  where,  as  I  said  in  the  beginning,  I  landed  my  rafts  from 
the  ship ;  and  hauling  her  up  to  the  shore  at  high-water  mark,  I 
made  my  man  Friday  dig  a  little  dock,  just  big  enough  to  hold 
her,  and  just  deep  enough  to  give  her  water  enough  to  float  in; 
and  then,  when  the  tide  was  out,  we  made  a  strong  dam  cross 
the  end  of  it,  to  keep  the  water  out;  and  so  she  lay  dry,  as  to 
the  tide,  from  the  sea ;  and  to  keep  the  rain  off,  we  laid  a  great 
many  boughs  of  trees,  so  thick,  that  she  was  as  well  thatched  as 
a  house;  and  thus  we  waited  for  the  month  of  November  and 
December,  in  which  I  designed  to  make  my  adventure. 

When  the  settled  season  began  to  come  in,  as  the  thought 
of  my  design  returned  with  the  fair  weather,  I  was  preparing 
daily  for  the  voyage ;  and  the  first  thing  I  did  was  to  lay  by  a 
certain  quantity  of  provisions,  being  the  stores  for  our  voyage ; 
and  intended,  in  a  week  or  a  fortnight's  time,  to  open  the  dock, 
and  launch  out  our  boat.  I  was  busy  one  morning  upon  some- 
thing of  this  kind,  when  I  called  to  Friday,  and  bid  him  go  to 
the  seashore  and  see  if  he  could  find  a  turtle,  or  tortoise,  a  thing 
which  we  generally  got  once  a  week,  for  the  sake  of  the  eggs  as 
well  as  the  flesh.     Friday  had  not  been  long  gone  when  he 

[304] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

came  running  back,  and  flew  over  my  outer  wall,  or  fence,  like 
one  that  felt  not  the  ground,  or  the  steps  he  set  his  feet  on;  and 
before  I  had  time  to  speak  to  him,  he  cries  out  to  me,  "O  mas- 
ter! O  master!  O  sorrow!  O  bad!"  "What's  the  matter,  Fri- 
day?" sa}7s  I.  "O  yonder,  there,"  says  he,  "one,  two,  three 
canoe!  one,  two,  three!"  By  his  way  of  speaking,  I  concluded 
there  were  six;  but,  on  inquiry,  I  found  it  was  but  three. 
"Well,  Friday,"  says  I,  "do  not  be  frightened."  So  I  heart- 
ened him  up  as  well  as  I  could.  However,  I  saw  the  poor 
fellow  was  most  terribly  scared;  for  nothing  ran  in  his  head 
but  that  they  were  come  to  look  for  him,  and  would  cut  him  in 
pieces,  and  eat  him;  and  the  poor  fellow  trembled  so,  that  I 
scarce  knew  what  to  do  with  him.  I  comforted  him  as  well  as 
I  could,  and  told  him  I  was  in  as  much  danger  as  he,  and  that 
they  would  eat  me  as  well  as  him.  "But,"  says  I,  "Friday,  we 
must  resolve  to  fight  them.  Can  you  fight,  Friday?"  "Me 
shoot,"  says  he;  "but  there  come  many  great  number."  "No 
matter  for  that,"  said  I  again;  "our  guns  will  frighten  them 
that  we  do  not  kill."  So  I  asked  him  whether,  if  I  resolved  to 
defend  him,  he  would  defend  me,  and  stand  by  me,  and  do  just 
as  I  bid  him.  He  said,  "Me  die  when  you  bid  die,  master." 
So  I  went  and  fetched  a  good  dram  of  rum,  and  gave  him ; 
for  I  had  been  so  good  a  husband  of  my  rum,  that  I  had  a  great 
deal  left.  When  he  drank  it,  I  made  him  take  the  two  fowling- 
pieces,  which  we  always  carried,  and  load  them  with  large  swan- 
shot,  as  big  as  small  pistol-bullets.  Then  I  took  four  muskets, 
and  loaded  them  with  two  slugs  and  five  small  bullets  each; 
and  my  two  pistols  I  loaded  with  a  brace  of  bullets  each.     I 

[305] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

hung  my  great  sword,  as  usual,  naked  by  my  side,  and  gave 
Friday  his  hatchet. 

When  I  had  thus  prepared  myself,  I  took  my  perspective- 
glass,  and  went  up  to  the  side  of  the  hill  to  see  what  I  could 
discover;  and  I  found  quickly,  by  my  glass,  that  there  were 
one  and  twenty  savages,  three  prisoners,  and  three  canoes,  and 
that  their  whole  business  seemed  to  be  the  triumphant  banquet 
upon  these  three  human  bodies;  a  barbarous  feast  indeed,  but 
nothing  more  than,  as  I  had  observed,  was  usual  with  them. 

I  observed  also  that  they  were  landed,  not  where  they  had 
done  when  Friday  made  his  escape,  but  nearer  to  my  creek, 
where  the  shore  was  low,  and  where  the  thick  wood  came  close 
almost  down  to  the  sea.  This,  with  the  abhorrence  of  the  inhu- 
man errand  these  wretches  came  about,  filled  me  with  such  in- 
dignation, that  I  came  down  again  to  Friday,  and  told  him  I 
Was  resolved  to  go  down  to  them,  and  kill  them  all,  and  asked 
him  if  he  would  stand  by  me.  He  was  now  gotten  over  his 
fright,  and  his  spirits  being  a  little  raised  with  the  dram  I  had 
given  him,  he  was  very  cheerful,  and  told  me,  as  before,  he 
would  die  when  I  bid  die. 

In  this  fit  of  fury,  I  took  first  and  divided  the  arms  which 
I  had  charged,  as  before,  between  us.  I  gave  Friday  one  pistol 
to  stick  in  his  girdle,  and  three  guns  upon  his  shoulder;  and  I 
took  one  pistol,  and  the  other  three  myself,  and  in  this  posture 
we  marched  out.  I  took  a  small  bottle  of  rum  in  my  pocket, 
and  gave  Friday  a  large  bag  with  more  powder  and  bullet ;  and 
as  to  orders,  I  charged  him  to  keep  close  behind  me,  and  not  to 
stir,  or  shoot,  or  do  anything,  till  I  bid  him,  and  in  the  mean- 

[306] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

time  not  to  speak  a  word.  In  this  posture  I  fetched  a  compass 
to  my  right  hand  of  near  a  mile  as  well  to  get  over  the  creek 
as  to  get  into  the  wood,  so  that  I  might  come  within  shot  of 
them  before  I  should  be  discovered,  which  I  had  seen,  by  my 
glass,  it  was  easy  to  do. 

While  I  was  making  this  march,  my  former  thoughts  re- 
turning, I  began  to  abate  my  resolution.  I  do  not  mean  that 
I  entertained  any  fear  of  their  number ;  for  as  they  were  naked, 
unarmed  wretches,  'tis  certain  I  was  superior  to  them;  nay, 
though  I  had  been  alone.  But  it  occurred  to  my  thoughts  what 
call,  what  occasion,  much  less  what  necessity,  I  was  in  to  go  and 
dip  my  hands  in  blood,  to  attack  people  who  had  neither  done 
or  intended  me  smy  wrong;  who,  as  to  me,  were  innocent,  and 
whose  barbarous  customs  were  their  own  disaster;  being  in 
them  a  token  indeed  of  God's  having  left  them,  with  the  other 
nations  of  that  part  of  the  world,  to  such  stupidity,  and  to  such 
inhuman  courses ;  but  did  not  call  me  to  take  upon  me  to  be  a 
judge  of  their  actions,  much  less  an  executioner  of  His  justice; 
that  whenever  he  thought  fit,  He  would  take  the  cause  into  His 
own  hands,  and  by  national  vengeance,  punish  them,  as  a  peo- 
ple, for  national  crimes ;  but  that,  in  the  meantime,  it  was  none 
of  my  business;  that,  it  was  true,  Friday  might  justify  it,  be- 
cause he  was  a  declared  enemy,  and  in  state  of  war  with  those 
very  particular  people,  and  it  was  lawful  for  him  to  attack 
them ;  but  I  could  not  say  the  same  with  respect  to  me.  These 
things  were  so  warmly  pressed  upon  my  thoughts  all  the  way 
as  I  went,  that  I  resolved  I  would  only  go  and  place  myself 
near  them,  that  I  might  observe  their  barbarous  feast,  and  that 

[307] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  would  act  then  as  God  should  direct ;  but  that,  unless  some- 
thing offered  that  was  more  a  call  to  me  than  yet  I  knew  of,  I 
would  not  meddle  with  them. 

With  this  resolution  I  entered  the  wood,  and  with  all  pos- 
sible wariness  and  silence,  Friday  following  close  at  my  heels, 
I  marched  till  I  came  to  the  skirt  of  the  wood,  on  the  side  which 
was  next  to  them ;  only  that  one  corner  of  the  wood  lay  between 
me  and  them.  Here  I  called  softly  to  Friday,  and  showing 
him  a  great  tree,  which  was  just  at  the  corner  of  the  wood,  I 
bade  him  go  to  the  tree  and  bring  me  word  if  he  could  see  there 
plainly  what  they  were  doing.  He  did  so,  and  came  imme- 
diately back  to  me,  and  told  me  they  might  be  plainly  viewed 
there ;  that  they  were  all  about  their  fire,  eating  the  flesh  of  one 
of  their  prisoners,  and  that  another  lay  bound  upon  the  sand, 
a  little  from  them,  which,  he  said,  they  would  kill  next;  and, 
which  fired  all  the  very  soul  within  me,  he  told  me  it  was  not 
one  of  their  nation,  but  one  of  the  bearded  men,  whom  he  had 
told  me  of,  that  came  to  their  country  in  the  boat.  I  was  filled 
with  horror  at  the  very  naming  the  white,  bearded  man;  and 
going  to  the  tree,  I  saw  plainly,  by  my  glass,  a  white  man,  who 
lay  upon  the  beach  of  the  sea,  with  his  hands  and  feet  tied  with 
flags,  or  things  like  rushes,  and  that  he  was  an  European,  and 
had  clothes  on. 

There  was  another  tree,  and  a  little  thicket  beyond  it,  about 
fifty  yards  nearer  to  them  than  the  place  where  I  was,  which, 
by  going  a  little  way  about,  I  saw  I  might  come  at  undiscov- 
ered, and  that  when  I  should  be  within  half  shot  of  them ;  so  I 
withheld  my  passion,  though  I  was  indeed  enraged  to  the  high- 

[308] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

est  degree;  and  going  back  about  twenty  paces,  I  got  behind 
some  bushes,  which  held  all  the  way  till  I  came  to  the  other  tree ; 
and  then  I  came  to  a  little  rising  ground,  which  gave  me  a  full 
view  of  them,  at  the  distance  of  about  eighty  yards. 


[309] 


CHAPTER  XXV 

Robinson  Releases  a  Spaniard — Friday  Discovers  His  Father — Ac- 
commodation Provided  for  These  New  Guests,  Who  Were  After- 
ward Sent   to  Liberate  the  Other  Spaniards — Arrival 
of  an  English   Vessel 

I  HAD  now  not  a  moment  to  lose,  for  nineteen  of  the  dread- 
ful wretches  sat  upon  the  ground,  all  close  huddled  to- 
gether, and  had  just  sent  the  other  two  to  butcher  the 
poor  Christian,  and  bring  him,  perhaps  limb  by  limb,  to  their 
fire;  and  they  were  stooped  down  to  untie  the  bands  at  his  feet. 
I  turned  to  Friday:  "Now,  Friday,"  said  I,  "do  as  I  bid 
thee."  Friday  said  he  would.  "Then,  Friday,"  says  I,  "do 
exactly  as  you  see  me  do;  fail  in  nothing."  So  I  set  down  one 
of  the  muskets  and  the  fowling-piece  upon  the  ground,  and 
Friday  did  the  like  by  his;  and  with  the  other  musket  I  took 
my  aim  at  the  savages,  bidding  him  do  the  like.  Then  asking 
him  if  he  was  ready,  he  said,  "Yes."  "Then  fire  at  them,"  said 
I ;  and  the  same  moment  I  fired  also. 

Friday  took  his  aim  so  much  better  than  I,  that  on  the  side 
that  he  shot  he  killed  two  of  them,  and  wounded  three  more; 
and  on  my  side  I  killed  one  and  wounded  two.  They  were,  you 
may  be  sure,  in  a  dreadful  consternation ;  and  all  of  them  who 
were  not  hurt  jumped  up  upon  their  feet,  but  did  not  imme- 
diately know  which  way  to  run,  or  which  way  to  look,  for  they 

[310] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

knew  not  from  whence  their  destruction  came.  Friday  kept 
his  eyes  close  upon  me,  that,  as  I  had  bid  him,  he  might  observe 
what  I  did ;  so  as  soon  as  the  first  shot  was  made  I  threw  down 
the  piece,  and  took  up  the  fowling-piece;  and  Friday  did  the 
like.  He  saw  me  cock  and  present;  he  did  the  same  again. 
"Are  you  ready,  Friday?"  said  I.  "Yes,"  said  he.  "Let  fly, 
then,"  said  I,  "in  the  name  of  God!"  and  with  that  I  fired 
again  among  the  amazed  wretches,  and  so  did  Friday;  and  as 
our  pieces  were  now  loaded  with  what  I  called  swanshot  or 
small  pistol-bullets,  we  found  only  two  drop,  but  so  many  were 
wounded,  that  they  ran  about  yelling  and  screaming  like  mad 
creatures,  all  bloody,  and  miserably  wounded  most  of  them; 
whereof  three  more  fell  quickty  after,  though  not  quite  dead. 
"Now,  Friday,"  says  I,  laying  down  the  discharged  pieces, 
and  taking  up  the  musket  which  was  yet  loaded,  "follow  me," 
says  I,  which  he  did  with  a  great  deal  of  courage;  upon  which 
I  rushed  out  of  the  wood,  and  showed  myself,  and  Friday  close 
at  my  foot.  As  soon  as  I  perceived  they  saw  me  I  shouted  as 
loud  as  I  could,  and  bade  Friday  do  so  too;  and  running  as 
fast  as  I  could,  which,  by  the  way,  was  not  very  fast,  being 
loaden  with  arms  as  I  was,  I  made  directly  towards  the  poor 
victim,  who  was,  as  I  said,  lying  upon  the  beach,  or  shore,  be- 
tween the  place  where  they  sat  and  the  sea.  The  two  butchers, 
who  were  just  going  to  work  with  him,  had  left  him  at  the  sur- 
prise of  our  first  fire,  and  fled  in  a  terrible  fright  to  the  seaside, 
and  had  jumped  into  a  canoe,  and  three  more  of  the  rest  made 
the  same  way.  I  turned  to  Friday,  and  bid  him  step  forwards 
and  fire  at  them.     He  understood  me  immediately,  and  run- 

[311] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

ning  about  forty  yards,  to  be  near  them,  he  shot  at  them,  and 
I  thought  he  had  killed  them  all,  for  I  saw  them  all  fall  of  a 
heap  into  the  boat;  though  I  saw  two  of  them  up  again  quickly. 
However,  he  killed  two  of  them,  and  wounded  the  third,  so  that 
he  lay  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  as  if  he  had  been  dead. 
While  my  man  Friday  fired  at  them,  I  pulled  out  my  knife 
and  cut  the  flags  that  bound  the  poor  victim;  and  loosing  his 
hands  and  feet,  I  lifted  him  up,  and  asked  him  in  the  Portu- 
guese tongue  who  he  was.  He  answered  in  Latin,  "Chris- 
tianus" ;  but  was  so  weak  and  faint,  that  he  could  scarce  stand 
or  speak.  I  took  my  bottle  out  of  my  pocket  and  gave  it  him, 
making  signs  that  he  should  drink,  which  he  did;  and  I  gave 
him  a  piece  of  bread,  which  he  ate.  Then  I  asked  him  what 
countnrrnan  he  was;  and  he  said,  "Espagniole";  and  being  a  lit- 
tle recovered,  let  me  know,  by  all  the  signs  he  could  possibly 
make,  how  much  he  was  in  my  debt  for  his  deliverance. 
"Senor,"  said  I,  with  as  much  Spanish  as  I  could  make  up,  "we 
will  talk  afterwards,  but  we  must  fight  now.  If  you  have  any 
strength  left,  take  this  pistol  and  sword,  and  lay  about  you." 
He  took  them  very  thankfully,  and  no  sooner  had  he  the  arms 
in  his  hands  but,  as  if  they  had  put  new  vigor  into  him,  he  flew 
upon  his  murderers  like  a  fury,  and  had  cut  two  of  them  in 
pieces  in  an  instant ;  for  the  truth  is,  as  the  whole  was  a  surprise 
to  them,  so  the  poor  creatures  were  so  much  frightened  with 
the  noise  of  our  pieces,  that  they  fell  down  for  mere  amazement 
and  fear,  and  had  no  more  power  to  attempt  their  own  escape, 
than  their  flesh  had  to  resist  our  shot ;  and  that  was  the  case  of 
those  five  that  Friday  shot  at  in  the  boat;  for  as  three  of  them 

[312] 


"  —  and  no  sooner  had  he  the  arms  in  his  hands  but,  as  if  they  had  pat  new  vigor  into  him, 
he  fleiv  upon  his  murderers  like  a  fury  ' ' 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

fell  with  the  hurt  they  received,  so  the  other  two  fell  with 
the  fright. 

I  kept  my  piece  in  my  hand  still  without  firing,  being  will- 
ing to  keep  my  charge  ready,  because  I  had  given  the  Spaniard 
my  pistol  and  sword.  So  I  called  to  Friday,  and  bade  him  run 
up  to  the  tree  from  whence  we  first  fired,  and  fetch  the  arms 
which  lay  there  that  had  been  discharged,  which  he  did  with 
great  swiftness;  and  then  giving  him  my  musket,  I  sat  down 
myself  to  load  all  the  rest  again,  and  bade  them  come  to  me 
when  they  wanted.  While  I  was  loading  these  pieces,  there 
happened  a  fierce  engagement  between  the  Spaniard  and  one  of 
the  savages,  who  made  at  him  with  one  of  their  great  wooden 
swords,  the  same  weapon  that  was  to  have  killed  him  before  if 
I  had  not  prevented  it.  The  Spaniard,  who  was  as  bold  and  as 
brave  as  could  be  imagined,  though  weak,  had  fought  this  In- 
dian a  good  while,  and  had  cut  him  two  great  wounds  on  his 
head ;  but  the  savage  being  a  stout  lusty  fellow,  closing  in  with 
him,  had  thrown  him  down  being  faint,  and  was  wringing  my 
sword  out  of  his  hand,  when  the  Spaniard,  though  undermost, 
wisely  quitting  the  sword,  drew  the  pistol  from  his  girdle,  shot 
the  savage  through  the  body,  and  killed  him  upon  the  spot, 
before  I,  who  was  running  to  help  him,  could  come  near  him. 

Friday  being  now  left  to  his  liberty,  pursued  the  flying 
wretches  with  no  weapon  in  his  hand  but  his  hatchet;  and  with 
that  he  despatched  those  three  who,  as  I  said  before,  were 
wounded  at  first,  and  fallen,  and  all  the  rest  he  could  come  up 
with;  and  the  Spaniard  coming  to  me  for  a  gun,  I  gave  him 
one  of  the  fowling-pieces,  with  which  he  pursued  two  of  the 

[313] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

savages,  and  wounded  them  both ;  but  as  he  was  not  able  to  run, 
they  both  got  away  from  him  into  the  wood,  where  Friday 
pursued  them,  and  killed  one  of  them;  but  the  other  was  too 
nimble  for  him,  and  though  he  was  wounded,  yet  had  plunged 
himself  into  the  sea,  and  swam  with  all  his  might  off  to  those 
two  who  were  left  in  the  canoe ;  which  three  in  the  canoe,  with 
one  wounded,  who  we  know  not  whether  he  died  or  no,  were 
all  that  escape  our  hands  of  one  and  twenty.  The  account  of 
the  rest  is  as  follows : — 

3  killed  at  our  first  shot  from  the  tree. 
2  killed  at  the  next  shot. 

2  killed  by  Friday  in  the  boat. 

2  killed  by  ditto,  of  those  at  first  wounded. 

1  killed  by  ditto  in  the  wood. 

8  killed  by  the  Spaniard. 

4  killed,  being  found  dropped  here  and  there  of  their 

wounds,  or  killed  by  Friday  in  his  chase  of  them. 
4  escaped  in  the  boat,  whereof  one  wounded,  if  not 
dead. 

21  in  all. 

Those  that  were  in  the  canoe  worked  hard  to  get  out  of 
gun-shot;  and  though  Friday  made  two  or  three  shots  at 
them,  I  did  not  find  that  he  hit  any  of  them.  Friday  would 
fain  have  had  me  take  one  of  their  canoes,  and  pursue  them; 
and,  indeed,  I  was  very  anxious  about  their  escape,  lest  carry- 
ing the  news  home  to  their  people  they  should  come  back  per- 

[314] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

haps  with  two  or  three  hundred  of  their  canoes,  and  devour  us 
by  mere  multitude.  Sol  consented  to  pursue  them  by  sea,  and 
running  to  one  of  their  canoes,  I  jumped  in,  and  bade  Friday 
follow  me.  Rut  when  I  was  in  the  canoe,  I  was  surprised  to 
find  another  poor  creature  lie  there  alive,  bound  hand  and  foot, 
as  the  Spaniard  was,  for  the  slaughter,  and  almost  dead  with 
fear,  not  knowing  what  the  matter  was;  for  he  had  not  been 
able  to  look  up  over  the  side  of  the  boat,  he  was  tied  so  hard, 
neck  and  heels,  and  had  been  tied  so  long,  that  he  had  really 
but  little  life  in  him. 

I  immediately  cut  the  twisted  flags  or  rushes,  which  they 
had  bound  him  with,  and  would  have  helped  him  up;  but  he 
could  not  stand  or  speak,  but  groaned  most  piteously,  believing, 
it  seems,  still  that  he  was  only  unbound  in  order  to  be  killed. 

When  Friday  came  to  him,  I  bade  him  speak  to  him,  and 
tell  him  of  his  deliverance ;  and  pulling  out  my  bottle  made  him 
give  the  poor  wretch  a  dram ;  which,  with  the  news  of  his  being 
delivered,  revived  him,  and  he  sat  up  in  the  boat.  But  when 
Friday  came  to  hear  him  speak,  and  look  in  his  face,  it  would 
have  moved  any  one  to  tears  to  have  seen  how  Friday  kissed 
him,  embraced  him,  hugged  him,  cried,  laughed,  halloed, 
jumped  about,  danced,  sang;  then  cried  again,  wrung  his 
hands,  beat  his  own  face  and  head,  and  then  sang  and  jumped 
about  again,  like  a  distracted  creature.  It  was  a  good  while 
before  I  could  make  him  speak  to  me,  or  tell  me  what  was  the 
matter;  but  when  he  came  a  little  to  himself,  he  told  me  that 
it  was  his  father. 

It  is  not  easy  for  me  to  express  how  it  moved  me  to  see  what 

[315] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

ecstasy  and  filial  affection  had  worked  in  this  poor  savage  at 
the  sight  of  his  father,  and  of  his  being  delivered  from  death ; 
nor,  indeed,  can  I  describe  half  the  extravagances  of  his  affec- 
tion after  this ;  for  he  went  into  the  boat,  and  out  of  the  boat,  a 
great  many  times.  When  he  went  in  to  him,  he  would  sit  down 
by  him,  open  his  breast,  and  hold  his  father's  head  close  to  his 
bosom,  half  an  hour  together  to  nourish  it;  then  he  took  his 
arms  and  ankles,  which  were  numbed  and  stiff  with  the  binding, 
and  chafed  and  rubbed  them  with  his  hands ;  and  I,  perceiving 
what  the  case  was,  gave  him  some  rum  out  of  my  bottle  to  rub 
them  with,  which  did  them  a  great  deal  of  good. 

This  action  put  an  end  to  our  pursuit  of  the  canoe  with  the 
other  savages,  who  were  now  gotten  almost  out  of  sight;  and 
it  was  happy  for  us  that  we  did  not,  for  it  blew  so  hard  within 
two  hours  after,  and  before  they  could  be  gotten  a  quarter  of 
the  way,  and  continued  blowing  so  hard  all  night,  and  that  from 
the  north-west,  which  was  against  them,  that  I  should  not  sup- 
pose their  boat  could  live,  or  that  they  ever  reached  to  their 
own  coast. 

But  to  return  to  Friday.  He  was  so  busy  about  his  father, 
that  I  could  not  find  in  my  heart  to  take  him  off  for  some  time ; 
but  after  I  thought  he  could  leave  him  a  little,  called  him  to 
me,  and  he  came  jumping  and  laughing,  and  pleased  to  the 
highest  extreme.  Then  I  asked  him  if  he  had  given  his  father 
any  bread.  He  shook  his  head,  and  said,  "None;  ugly  dog  eat 
all  up  self."  So  I  gave  him  a  cake  of  bread  out  of  a  little 
pouch  I  carried  on  purpose.  I  also  gave  him  a  dram  for  him- 
self, but  he  would  not  taste  it,  but  carried  it  to  his  father.     I 

[316] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

had  in  my  pocket  also  two  or  three  bunches  of  my  raisins,  so  I 
gave  him  a  handful  of  them  for  his  father.  He  had  no  sooner 
given  his  father  these  raisins,  but  I  saw  him  come  out  of  the 
boat  and  run  away,  as  if  he  had  been  bewitched,  he  ran  at  such 
a  rate;  for  he  was  the  swiftest  fellow  of  his  foot  that  ever  I 
saw.  I  say,  he  ran  at  such  a  rate,  that  he  was  out  of  sight,  as 
it  were,  in  an  instant;  and  though  I  called,  and  halloed  too, 
after  him,  it  was  all  one,  away  he  went ;  and  in  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  I  saw  him  come  back  again,  though  not  so  fast  as  he  went ; 
and  as  he  came  nearer  I  found  his  pace  was  slacker,  because  he 
had  something  in  his  hand. 

When  he  came  up  to  me,  I  found  he  had  been  quite  home 
for  an  earthen  jug,  or  pot,  to  bring  his  father  some  fresh  water, 
and  that  he  had  got  two  more  cakes  or  loaves  of  bread.  The 
bread  he  gave  me,  but  the  water  he  carried  to  his  father.  How- 
ever, as  I  was  very  thirsty  too,  I  took  a  little  sup  of  it.  This 
water  revived  his  father  more  than  all  the  rum  or  spirits  I  had 
given  him,  for  he  was  just  fainting  with  thirst. 

When  his  father  had  drank,  I  called  to  him  to  know  if  there 
was  any  water  left.  He  said  "Yes";  and  I  bade  him  give  it 
to  the  poor  Spaniard,  who  was  in  as  much  want  of  it  as  his 
father;  and  I  sent  one  of  the  cakes,  that  Friday  brought,  to  the 
Spaniard  too,  who  was  indeed  very  weak,  and  was  reposing 
himself  upon  a  green  place  under  the  shade  of  a  tree ;  and  whose 
limbs  were  also  very  stiff,  and  very  much  swelled  with  the  rude 
bandage  he  had  been  tied  with.  When  I  saw  that  upon  Fri- 
day's coming  to  him  with  the  water  he  sat  up  and  drank,  and 
took  the  bread,  and  began  to  eat,  I  went  to  him,  and  gave  him 

[317] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

a  handful  of  raisins.  He  looked  up  in  my  face  with  all  the 
tokens  of  gratitude  and  thankfulness  that  could  appear  in  any 
countenance;  but  was  so  weak,  notwithstanding  he  had  so 
exerted  himself  in  the  fight,  that  he  could  not  stand  up  upon 
his  feet.  He  tried  to  do  it  two  or  three  times,  but  was  really 
not  able,  his  ankles  were  so  swelled  and  so  painful  to  him;  so 
I  bade  him  sit  still,  and  caused  Friday  to  rub  his  ankles,  and 
bathe  them  with  rum,  as  he  had  done  his  father's. 

I  observed  the  poor  affectionate  creature,  every  two  min- 
utes, or  perhaps  less,  all  the  while  he  was  here,  turn  his  head 
about  to  see  if  his  father  was  in  the  same  place  and  posture  as 
he  left  him  sitting;  and  at  last  he  found  he  was  not  to  be  seen; 
at  which  he  started  up,  and  without  speaking  a  word,  flew  with 
that  swiftness  to  him,  that  one  could  scarce  perceive  his  feet  to 
touch  the  ground  as  he  went.  But  when  he  came,  he  only 
found  he  had  laid  himself  down  to  ease  his  limbs;  so  Friday 
came  back  to  me  presently,  and  I  then  spoke  to  the  Spaniard 
to  let  Friday  help  him  up,  if  he  could,  and  lead  him  to  the  boat, 
and  then  he  should  carry  him  to  our  dwelling,  where  I  would 
take  care  of  him.  But  Friday,  a  lusty  strong  fellow,  took  the 
Spaniard  quite  up  upon  his  back,  and  carried  him  away  to  the 
boat,  and  set  him  down  softly  upon  the  side  or  gunwale  of  the 
canoe,  with  his  feet  in  the  inside  of  it,  and  then  lifted  him  quite 
in,  and  set  him  close  to  his  father;  and  presently  stepping  out 
again,  launched  the  boat  off,  and  paddled  it  along  the  shore 
faster  than  I  could  walk,  though  the  wind  blew  pretty  hard  too* 
So  he  brought  them  both  safe  into  our  creek,  and  leaving  them 
in  the  boat,  ran  away  to  fetch  the  other  canoe.     As  he  passed 

[318] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

me,  I  spoke  to  him,  and  asked  him  whither  he  went.  He  told 
me,  "Go  fetch  more  boat."  So  away  he  went  like  the  wind, 
for  sure  never  man  or  horse  ran  like  him ;  and  he  had  the  other 
canoe  in  the  creek  almost  as  soon  as  I  got  to  it  by  land;  so  he 
wafted  me  over,  and  then  went  to  help  our  new  guests  out  of 
the  boat,  which  he  did;  but  they  were  neither  of  them  able  to 
walk,  so  that  poor  Friday  knew  not  what  to  do. 

To  remedy  this  I  went  to  work  in  my  thought,  and  calling 
to  Friday  to  bid  him  sit  down  on  the  bank  while  he  came  to 
me,  I  soon  made  a  kind  of  hand-barrow  to  lay  them  on,  and 
Friday  and  I  carried  them  up  both  together  upon  it  between 
us.  But  when  we  got  them  to  the  outside  of  our  wall,  or  forti- 
fication, we  were  at  a  worse  loss  than  before,  for  it  was  impos- 
sible to  get  them  over,  and  I  was  resolved  not  to  break  it  down. 
So  I  set  to  work  again;  and  Friday  and  I,  in  about  two  hours' 
time,  made  a  very  handsome  tent,  covered  with  old  sails,  and 
above  that  with  boughs  of  trees,  being  in  the  space  without  our 
outward  fence,  and  between  that  and  the  grove  of  young  wood 
which  I  had  planted ;  and  here  we  made  them  two  beds  of  such 
things  as  I  had,  viz.,  of  good  rice-straw,  with  blankets  laid  upon 
it  to  lie  on,  and  another  to  cover  them,  on  each  bed. 

My  island  was  now  peopled,  and  I  thought  myself  very  rich 
in  subjects;  and  it  was  a  merry  reflection,  which  I  frequently 
made,  how  like  a  king  I  looked.  First  of  all,  the  whole  country 
was  my  own  mere  property,  so  that  I  had  an  undoubted  right 
of  dominion.  Secondly,  my  people  were  perfectly  subjected. 
I  was  absolute  lord  and  lawgiver;  they  all  owed  their  lives  to 
me,  and  were  ready  to  lay  down  their  lives,  if  there  had  been 

[319] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

occasion  of  it,  for  me.  It  was  remarkable,  too,  we  had  but 
three  subjects,  and  they  were  of  three  different  religions.  My 
man  Friday  was  a  Protestant,  his  father  was  a  Pagan  and  a 
cannibal,  and  the  Spaniard  was  a  Papist.  However,  I  allowed 
liberty  of  conscience  throughout  my  dominions.  But  this  is 
by  the  way. 

As  soon  as  I  had  secured  my  two  weak  rescued  prisoners, 
and  given  them  shelter  and  a  place  to  rest  them  upon,  I  began 
to  think  of  making  some  provision  for  them ;  and  the  first  thing 
I  did,  I  ordered  Friday  to  take  a  yearling  goat,  betwixt  a  kid 
and  a  goat,  out  of  my  particular  flock,  to  be  killed;  when  I  cut 
off  the  hinder-quarter,  and  chopping  it  into  small  pieces,  I  set 
Friday  to  work  to  boiling  and  stewing,  and  made  them  a  very 
good  dish,  I  assure  you,  of  flesh  and  broth,  having  put  some 
barley  and  rice  also  into  the  broth;  and  as  I  cooked  it  without 
doors,  for  I  made  no  fire  within  my  inner  wall,  so  I  carried  it 
all  into  the  new  tent,  and  having  set  a  table  there  for  them,  I 
sat  down  and  ate  my  own  dinner  also  with  them,  and  as  well  as 
I  could  cheered  them,  and  encouraged  them;  Friday  being  my 
interpreter,  especially  to  his  father,  and  indeed,  to  the  Span- 
iard too;  for  the  Spaniard  spoke  the  language  of  the  savages 
pretty  well. 

After  we  had  dined,  or  rather  supped,  I  ordered  Friday  to 
take  one  of  the  canoes  and  go  and  fetch  our  muskets  and  other 
firearms,  which,  for  want  of  time,  we  had  left  upon  the  place  of 
battle ;  and  the  next  day  I  ordered  him  to  go  and  bury  the  dead 
bodies  of  the  savages,  which  lay  open  to  the  sun,  and  would 
presently  be  offensive ;  and  I  also  ordered  him  to  bury  the  hor- 

[320] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

rid  remains  of  their  barbarous  feast,  and  which  I  could  not 
think  of  doing  myself;  nay,  I  could  not  bear  to  see  them,  if  I 
went  that  way.  All  which  he  punctually  performed,  and  de- 
faced the  very  appearance  of  the  savages  being  there;  so  that 
when  I  went  again  I  could  scarce  know  where  it  was,  otherwise 
than  by  the  corner  of  the  wood  pointing  to  the  place. 

I  then  began  to  enter  into  a  little  conversation  with  my  two 
new  subjects;  and  first,  I  set  Friday  to  inquire  of  his  father 
what  he  thought  of  the  escape  of  the  savages  in  that  canoe,  and 
whether  we  might  expect  a  return  of  them,  with  a  power  too 
great  for  us  to  resist.  His  first  opinion  was,  that  the  savages 
in  the  boat  never  could  live  out  the  storm  which  blew  that  night 
they  went  off,  but  must,  of  necessity,  be  drowned,  or  driven 
south  to  those  other  shores,  where  they  were  as  sure  to  be  de- 
voured as  they  were  to  be  drowned  if  they  were  cast  away. 
But  as  to  what  they  would  do  if  they  came  safe  on  shore,  he 
said  he  knew  not;  but  it  was  his  opinion  that  they  were  so 
dreadfully  frightened  with  the  manner  of  their  being  attacked, 
the  noise,  and  the  fire,  that  he  believed  they  would  tell  their 
people  they  were  all  killed  by  thunder  and  lightning,  not  by 
the  hand  of  man;  and  that  the  two  which  appeared,  viz.,  Friday 
and  me,  were  two  heavenly  spirits,  or  furies,  come  down  to 
destroy  them,  and  not  men  with  weapons.  This,  he  said,  he 
knew,  because  he  heard  them  all  cry  out  so  in  their  language 
to  one  another;  for  it  was  impossible  to  them  to  conceive  that 
a  man  could  dart  fire,  and  speak  thunder,  and  kill  at  a  distance 
without  lifting  up  the  hand,  as  was  done  now.  And  this  old 
savage  was  in  the  right;  for  as  I  understood  since  by  other 

[321] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

hands,  the  savages  never  attempted  to  go  to  the  island  after- 
wards. They  were  so  terrified  with  the  accounts  given  by 
those  four  men  (for,  it  seems,  they  did  escape  the  sea),  that 
they  believed  whoever  went  to  that  enchanted  island  would  be 
destroyed  with  fire  from  the  gods. 

This,  however,  I  knew  not,  and  therefore  was  under  con- 
tinual apprehensions  for  a  good  while,  and  kept  always  upon 
my  guard,  me  and  all  my  army ;  for  as  we  were  now  four  of  us, 
I  would  have  ventured  upon  a  hundred  of  them,  fairly  in  the 
open  field,  at  any  time. 

In  a  little  time,  however,  no  more  canoes  appearing,  the  fear 
of  their  coming  wore  off,  and  I  began  to  take  my  former 
thoughts  of  a  voyage  to  the  main  into  consideration;  being  like- 
wise assured,  by  Friday's  father,  that  I  might  depend  upon 
good  usage  from  their  nation,  on  his  account,  if  I  would  go. 

But  my  thoughts  were  a  little  suspended  when  I  had  a  seri- 
ous discourse  with  the  Spaniard,  and  when  I  understood  that 
there  were  sixteen  more  of  his  countrymen  and  Portuguese, 
who,  having  been  cast  away,  and  made  their  escape  to  that  side, 
lived  there  at  peace,  indeed,  with  the  savages,  but  were  very 
sore  put  to  it  for  necessaries,  and  indeed  for  life.  I  asked  him 
all  the  particulars  of  their  voyage,  and  found  they  were  a  Span- 
ish ship  bound  from  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  to  Havana,  being  di- 
rected to  leave  their  loading  there,  which  was  chiefly  hides  and 
silver,  and  to  bring  back  what  European  goods  they  could  meet 
with  there;  that  they  had  five  Portuguese  seamen  on  board, 
whom  they  took  out  of  another  wreck;  that  five  of  their  own 
men  were  drowned  when  the  first  ship  was  lost,  and  that  these 

[322] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

escaped,  through  infinite  dangers  and  hazards,  and  arrived, 
almost  starved,  on  the  cannibal  coast,  where  they  expected  to 
have  been  devoured  every  moment. 

He  told  me  they  had  some  arms  with  them,  but  they  were 
perfectly  useless,  for  that  they  had  neither  powder  nor  ball,  the 
washing  of  the  sea  having  spoiled  all  their  powder  but  a  little, 
which  they  used,  at  their  first  landing,  to  provide  themselves 
some  food. 

I  asked  him  what  he  thought  would  become  of  them  there, 
and  if  they  had  formed  no  design  of  making  any  escape  ?  He 
said  they  had  many  consultations  about  it;  but  that  having 
neither  vessel,  or  tools  to  build  one,  or  provisions  of  any  kind, 
their  councils  always  ended  in  tears  and  despair. 

I  asked  him  how  he  thought  they  would  receive  a  proposal 
from  me,  which  might  tend  towards  an  escape ;  and  whether,  if 
they  were  all  here,  it  might  not  be  done  ?  I  told  him  with  free- 
dom, I  feared  mostly  their  treachery  and  ill  usage  of  me  if  I 
put  my  life  in  their  hands;  for  that  gratitude  was  no  inherent 
virtue  in  the  nature  of  man,  nor  did  men  always  square  their 
dealings  by  the  obligations  they  had  received,  so  much  as  they 
did  by  the  advantages  they  expected.  I  told  him  it  would  be 
very  hard  that  I  should  be  the  instrument  of  their  deliverance, 
and  that  they  should  afterwards  make  me  their  prisoner,  in 
New  Spain,  where  an  Englishman  was  certain  to  lose  his  life, 
what  necessity  or  what  accident  soever  brought  him  thither; 
and  that  I  had  rather  be  delivered  up  to  the  savages,  and  be 
devoured  alive.  I  added,  that  otherwise  I  was  persuaded,  if 
they  were  all  here,  we  might,  with  so  many  hands,  build  a  bark 

[323] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

large  enough  to  carry  us  all  away,  either  to  the  Brazils,  south- 
v/ard,  or  to  the  islands,  or  Spanish  coast,  northward;  but  that 
if,  in  requital,  they  should,  when  I  had  put  weapons  into  their 
hands,  carry  me  by  force  among  their  own  people,  I  might  be  ill 
used  for  my  kindness  to  them,  and  make  my  case  worse  than 
it  was  before. 

He  answered,  with  a  great  deal  of  candor  and  ingenuity, 
that  their  condition  was  so  miserable,  and  they  were  so  sen- 
sible of  it,  that  he  believed  they  would  abhor  the  thought  of 
using  any  man  unkindly  that  should  contribute  to  their  de- 
liverance; and  that,  if  I  pleased,  he  would  go  to  them  with  the 
old  man,  and  discourse  with  them  about  it,  and  return  again, 
and  bring  me  their  answer;  that  he  would  make  conditions 
witli  them  upon  their  solemn  oath  that  they  should  be  absolutely 
under  my  leading,  as  their  commander  and  captain;  and  that 
they  should  swear  upon  the  holy  sacraments  and  the  gospel 
to  be  true  to  me,  and  to  go  to  such  Christian  country  as  that 
I  should  agree  to,  and  no  other,  and  to  be  wholly  and  absolutely 
by  my  orders  till  they  were  landed  safety  in  such  country  as 
I  intended;  and  that  he  would  bring  a  contract  from  them, 
under  their  hands,  for  that  purpose. 

Then  he  told  me  he  would  first  swear  to  me  himself,  that 
he  would  never  stir  from  me  as  long  as  he  lived  till  I  gave  him 
orders ;  and  that  he  would  take  my  side  to  the  last  drop  of  his 
blood,  if  there  should  happen  the  least  breach  of  faith  among 
his  countrymen. 

He  told  me  they  were  all  of  them  very  civil,  honest  men, 
and  they  were  under  the  greatest  distress  imaginable,  having 

[324] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

neither  weapons  nor  clothes,  nor  any  food,  but  at  the  mercy 
and  discretion  of  the  savages ;  out  of  all  hopes  of  ever  returning 
to  their  own  country;  and  that  he  was  sure,  if  I  would  under- 
take their  relief,  thejr  would  live  and  die  by  me. 

Upon  these  assurances,  I  resolved  to  venture  to  relieve 
them,  if  possible,  and  to  send  the  old  savage  and  this  Span- 
iard over  to  them  to  treat.  But  when  we  had  gotten  all  things 
in  readiness  to  go,  the  Spaniard  himself  started  an  objection, 
which  had  so  much  prudence  in  it  on  one  hand,  and  so  much  sin- 
cerity on  the  other  hand,  that  I  could  not  but  be  very  well 
satisfied  in  it,  and  by  his  advice  put  off  the  deliverance  of  his 
comrades  for  at  least  half  a  year.     The  case  was  thus: 

He  had  been  with  us  now  about  a  month,  during  which 
time  I  had  let  him  see  in  what  manner  I  had  provided,  with  the 
assistance  of  Providence,  for  my  support;  and  he  saw  evi- 
dently what  stock  of  corn  and  rice  I  had  laid  up ;  which,  as  it 
was  more  than  sufficient  for  myself,  so  it  was  not  sufficient, 
at  least  without  good  husbandry,  for  my  family,  now  it  was  in- 
creased to  number  four;  but  much  less  would  it  be  sufficient 
if  his  countrymen,  who  were,  as  he  said,  fourteen,  still  alive, 
should  come  over;  and  least  of  all  would  it  be  sufficient  to 
victual  our  vessel,  if  we  should  build  one,  for  a  voyage  to 
any  of  the  Christian  colonies  of  America.  So  he  told  me  he 
thought  it  would  be  more  advisable  to  let  him  and  the  two  others 
dig  and  cultivate  some  more  land,  as  much  as  I  could  spare 
seed  to  sow;  and  that  we  should  wait  another  harvest,  that 
we  might  have  a  supply  of  corn  for  his  countrymen  when  they 
should  come;  for  want  might  be  a  temptation  to  them  to  dis- 

[325] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

agree,  or  not  to  think  themselves  delivered,  otherwise  than  out 
of  one  difficulty  into  another.  "You  know,"  says  he,  "the 
children  of  Israel,  though  they  rejoiced  at  first  for  their  being 
delivered  out  of  Egypt,  yet  rebelled  even  against  God  Him- 
self, that  delivered  them,  when  they  came  to  want  bread  in  the 
wilderness." 

His  caution  was  so  seasonable,  and  his  advice  so  good,  that 
I  could  not  but  be  very  well  pleased  with  his  proposal,  as  well 
as  I  was  satisfied  with  his  fidelity.  So  we  fell  to  digging  all 
four  of  us,  as  well  as  the  wooden  tools  we  were  furnished  with 
permitted;  and  in  about  a  month's  time,  by  the  end  of  which 
it  was  seed-time,  we  had  gotten  as  much  land  cured  and 
trimmed  up  as  we  sowed  twenty-two  bushels  of  barley  on,  and 
sixteen  jars  of  rice;  which  was,  in  short,  all  the  seed  we  had  to 
spare;  nor,  indeed,  did  we  leave  ourselves  barley  sufficient  for 
our  own  food  for  the  six  months  that  we  had  to  expect  our 
crop;  that  is  to  say,  reckoning  from  the  time  we  set  our  seed 
aside  for  sowing;  for  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  it  is  six  months 
in  the  ground  in  that  country. 

Having  now  society  enough,  and  our  number  being  suffi- 
cient to  put  us  out  of  fear  of  the  savages,  if  they  had  come, 
unless  their  number  had  been  very  great,  we  went  freely  all 
over  the  island,  whenever  we  found  occasion ;  and  as  here  we  had 
our  escape  or  deliverance  upon  our  thoughts,  it  was  impossible, 
at  least  for  me,  to  have  the  means  of  it  out  of  mine.  To  this 
purpose  I  marked  out  several  trees  which  I  thought  fit  for  our 
work,  and  I  set  Friday  and  his  father  to  cutting  them  down; 
and  then  I  caused  the  Spaniard,  to  whom  I  imparted  my 

[326] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

thought  on  that  affair,  to  oversee  and  direct  their  work.  I 
showed  them  with  what  indefatigable  pains  I  had  hewed  a  large 
tree  into  single  planks,  and  I  caused  them  to  do  the  like,  till 
they  had  made  about  a  dozen  large  planks  of  good  oak,  near 
two  feet  broad,  thirty-five  feet  long,  and  from  two  inches  to 
four  inches  thick.  What  prodigious  labor  it  took  up,  any 
one  may  imagine. 

At  the  same  time,  I  contrived  to  increase  my  little  flock 
of  tame  goats  as  much  as  I  could ;  and  to  this  purpose  I  made 
Friday  and  the  Spaniard  go  out  one  day,  and  myself  with 
Friday  the  next  day,  for  we  took  our  turns,  and  by  this  means 
we  got  about  twenty  young  kids  to  breed  up  with  the  rest, 
for  whenever  we  shot  the  dam,  we  saved  the  kids,  and  added 
them  to  our  flock.  But  above  all,  the  season  for  curing  the 
grapes  coming  on,  I  caused  such  a  prodigious  quantity  to  be 
hung  up  in  the  sun,  that  I  believe,  had  we  been  at  Alicant, 
where  the  raisins  of  the  sun  are  cured,  we  could  have  filled 
sixty  or  eighty  barrels ;  and  these,  with  our  bread,  was  a  great 
part  of  our  food,  and  very  good  living  too,  I  assure  you ;  for  it 
is  an  exceeding  nourishing  food. 

It  was  now  harvest,  and  our  crop  in  good  order.  It  was 
not  the  most  plentiful  increase  I  had  seen  in  the  island,  but, 
however,  it  was  enough  to  answer  our  end ;  for  from  our  twenty- 
two  bushels  we  brought  in  and  thrashed  out  above  two  hundred 
and  twenty  bushels,  and  the  like  in  proportion  of  the  rice ;  which 
was  store  enough  for  our  food  to  the  next  harvest,  though  all 
the  sixteen  Spaniards  had  been  on  shore  with  me;  or  if  we 
had  been  ready  for  a  voyage  it  would  very  plentifully  have 

[327] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

victualled  our  ship  to  have  carried  us  to  any  part  of  the  world, 
that  is  to  say,  of  America. 

When  we  had  thus  housed  and  secured  our  magazine  of 
corn,  we  fell  to  work  to  make  more  wicker-work,  viz.,  great 
baskets,  in  which  we  kept  it;  and  the  Spaniard  was  very  handy 
and  dexterous  at  this  part,  and  often  blamed  me  that  I  did 
not  make  some  things  for  defense  of  this  kind  of  work;  but 
I  saw  no  need  of  it. 

And  now  having  a  full  supply  of  food  for  all  the  guests  I 
expected,  I  gave  the  Spaniard  leave  to  go  over  to  the  main,  to 
see  what  he  could  do  with  those  he  had  left  behind  him  there. 
I  gave  him  a  strict  charge  in  writing  not  to  bring  any  man 
with  him  who  would  not  first  swear,  in  the  presence  of  him- 
self and  of  the  old  savage,  that  he  would  no  way  injure,  fight 
with,  or  attack  the  person  he  should  find  in  the  island,  who  was 
so  kind  to  send  for  them  in  order  to  their  deliverance ;  but  that 
they  would  stand  by  and  defend  him  against  all  such  at- 
tempts, and  wherever  they  went  would  be  entirely  under  and 
subjected  to  his  commands;  and  that  this  should  be  put  in 
writing,  and  signed  with  their  hands.  How  we  were  to  have 
this  done,  when  I  knew  they  had  neither  pen  nor  ink,  that  in- 
deed was  a  question  which  we  never  asked. 

Under  these  instructions,  the  Spaniard  and  the  old  sav- 
age, the  father  of  Friday,  went  away  in  one  of  the  canoes  which 
they  might  be  said  to  come  in,  or  rather  were  brought  in,  when 
they  came  as  prisoners  to  be  devoured  by  the  savages. 

I  gave  each  of  them  a  musket,  with  a  firelock  on  it,  and 
about  eight  charges  of  powder  and  ball,  charging  them  to  be 

[328] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

very  good  husbands  of  both,  and  not  to  use  either  of  them  but 
upon  urgent  occasion. 

This  was  a  cheerful  work,  being  the  first  measures  used  by 
me,  in  view  of  my  deliverance,  for  now  twenty-seven  years  and 
some  days.  I  gave  them  provisions  of  bread  and  of  dried 
grapes  sufficient  for  themselves  for  many  days,  and  sufficient 
for  all  their  countrymen  for  about  eight  days'  time ;  and  wish- 
ing them  a  good  voyage,  I  saw  them  go,  agreeing  with  them 
about  a  signal  they  should  hang  out  at  their  return,  by  which 
I  should  know  them  again,  when  they  came  back,  at  a  distance, 
before  they  came  on  shore. 

They  went  away  with  a  fair  gale  on  the  day  that  the 
moon  was  at  full,  by  my  account  in  the  month  of  October; 
but  as  for  an  exact  reckoning  of  days,  after  I  had  once  lost  it, 
I  could  never  recover  it  again;  nor  had  I  kept  even  the  num- 
ber of  years  so  punctually  as  to  be  sure  that  I  was  right, 
though  as  it  proved,  when  I  afterwards  examined  my  account, 
I  found  I  had  kept  a  true  reckoning  of  years. 

It  was  no  less  than  eight  days  I  had  waited  for  them,  when 
a  strange  and  unforeseen  accident  intervened,  of  which  the  like 
has  not  perhaps  been  heard  of  in  history.  I  was  fast  asleep  in 
my  hutch  one  morning,  when  my  man  Friday  came  running  in 
to  me,  and  called  aloud,  "Master,  master,  they  are  come,  they 
are  come!" 

I  jumped  up,  and,  regardless  of  danger,  I  went  out  as  soon 
as  I  could  get  my  clothes  on,  through  my  little  grove,  which, 
by  the  way,  was  by  this  time  grown  to  be  a  very  thick  wood; 
I  say,  regardless  of  danger,  I  went  without  my  arms,  which 

[329] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

was  not  my  custom  to  do;  but  I  was  surprised  when,  turning 
my  eyes  to  the  sea,  I  presently  saw  a  boat  at  about  a  league  and 
a  half's  distance  standing  in  for  the  shore,  with  a  shoulder-of- 
mutton  sail,  as  they  call  it,  and  the  wind  blowing  pretty  fair  to 
bring  them  in ;  also  I  observed  presently  that  they  did  not  come 
from  that  side  which  the  shore  lay  on,  but  from  the  southern- 
most end  of  the  island.  Upon  this  I  called  Friday  in,  and  bid 
him  lie  close,  for  these  were  not  the  people  we  looked  for,  and 
that  we  might  not  know  yet  whether  they  were  friends  or 
enemies. 

In  the  next  place,  I  went  in  to  fetch  my  perspective-glass, 
to  see  what  I  could  make  of  them ;  and  having  taken  the  ladder 
out,  I  climbed  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  as  I  used  to  do  when 
I  was  apprehensive  of  anything,  and  to  take  my  view  the 
plainer,  without  being  discovered. 

I  had  scarce  set  my  foot  on  the  hill,  when  my  eye  plainly 
discovered  a  ship  lying  at  an  anchor  at  about  two  leagues  and 
a  half's  distance  from  me,  south-south-east,  but  not  above  a 
league  and  a  half  from  the  shore.  By  my  observation,  it  ap- 
peared plainly  to  be  an  English  ship,  and  the  boat  appeared 
to  be  an  English  longboat. 

I  cannot  express  the  confusion  I  was  in;  though  the  joy 
of  seeing  a  ship,  and  one  who  I  had  reason  to  believe  was 
manned  by  my  own  countrymen,  and  consequently  friends,  was 
such  as  I  cannot  describe.  But  yet  I  had  some  secret  doubts 
hung  about  me  I  cannot  tell  from  whence  they  came,  bidding  me 
keep  upon  my  guard.  In  the  first  place,  it  occurred  to  me  to 
consider  what  business  an  English  ship  could  have  in  that 

[330] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

part  of  the  world,  since  it  was  not  the  way  to  or  from  any  part 
of  the  world  where  the  English  had  any  traffic;  and  I  knew 
there  had  been  no  storms  to  drive  them  in  there  as  in  distress; 
and  that  if  they  were  English  really,  it  was  most  probable  that 
they  were  here  upon  no  good  design;  and  that  I  had 
better  continue  as  I  was,  than  fall  into  the  hands  of  thieves 
and  murderers. 

Let  no  man  despise  the  secret  hints  and  notices  of  danger 
which  sometimes  are  given  him  when  he  may  think  there  is  no 
possibility  of  its  being  real.  That  such  hints  and  notices  are 
given  us,  I  believe  few  that  have  made  any  observation  of 
things  can  deny;  that  they  are  certain  discoveries  of  an  in- 
visible world,  and  a  converse  of  spirits,  we  cannot  doubt;  and 
if  the  tendency  of  them  seems  to  be  to  warn  us  of  danger,  why 
should  we  not  suppose  they  are  from  some  friendly  agent, 
whether  supreme,  or  inferior  and  subordinate,  is  not  the  ques- 
tion, and  that  they  are  given  for  our  good? 

The  present  question  abundantly  confirms  me  in  the  jus- 
tice of  this  reasoning ;  for  had  I  not  been  made  cautious  by  this 
secret  admonition,  come  it  from  whence  it  will,  I  had  been 
undone  inevitably,  and  in  a  far  worse  condition  than  before,  as 
you  will  see  presently. 

I  had  not  kept  myself  long  in  this  posture,  but  I  saw  the 
boat  draw  near  the  shore,  as  if  they  looked  for  a  creek  to 
thrust  in  at,  for  the  convenience  of  landing.  However,  as 
they  did  not  come  quite  far  enough,  they  did  not  see  the  little 
inlet  where  I  formerly  landed  my  rafts;  but  ran  their  boat  on 
shore  upon  the  beach,  at  about  half  a  mile  from  me,  which  was 

[331] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

very  happy  for  me;  for  otherwise  they  would  have  landed 
just,  as  I  may  say,  at  my  door,  and  would  soon  have  beaten 
me  out  of  my  castle,  and  perhaps  have  plundered  me  of  all 
I  had. 

When  they  were  on  shore,  I  was  fully  satisfied  that  they 
were  Englishmen,  at  least  most  of  them;  one  or  two  I  thought 
were  Dutch,  but  it  did  not  prove  so.  There  were  in  all  eleven 
men,  whereof  three  of  them  I  found  were  unarmed,  and,  as 
I  thought,  bound ;  and  when  the  first  four  or  five  of  them  were 
jumped  on  shore,  they  took  those  three  out  of  the  boat,  as 
prisoners.  One  of  the  three  I  could  perceive  using  the  most 
passionate  gestures  of  entreaty,  affliction,  and  despair,  even  to 
a  kind  of  extravagance ;  the  other  two,  I  could  perceive,  lifted 
up  their  hands  sometimes,  and  appeared  concerned  indeed,  but 
not  to  such  a  degree  as  the  first. 

I  was  perfectly  confounded  at  the  sight,  and  knew  not  what 
the  meaning  of  it  should  be.  Friday  called  out  to  me  in  Eng- 
lish as  well  as  he  could,  "O  master!  you  see  English  mans  eat 
prisoner  as  well  as  savage  mans."  "Why,"  says  I,  "Friday, 
do  you  think  they  are  agoing  to  eat  them  then?"  "Yes,"  says 
Friday,  "they  will  eat  them."  "No,  no,"  says  I,  "Friday,  I 
am  afraid  they  will  murder  them,  indeed,  but  you  may  be  sure 
they  will  not  eat  them." 

All  this  while  I  had  no  thought  of  what  the  matter  really 
was,  but  stood  trembling  with  the  horror  of  the  sight,  expect- 
ing every  moment  when  the  three  prisoners  should  be  killed; 
nay,  once  I  saw  one  of  the  villains  lift  up  his  arm  with  a  great 
cutlass,  as  the  seamen  call  it,  or  sword,  to  strike  one  of  the 

[332] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

poor  men;  and  I  expected  to  see  him  fall  every  moment, 
at  which  all  the  blood  in  my  body  seemed  to  run  chill  in 
my  veins. 

I  wished  heartily  now  for  my  Spaniard,  and  the  savage  that 
was  gone  with  him ;  or  that  I  had  any  way  to  have  come  undis- 
covered within  shot  of  them,  that  I  might  have  rescued  the 
three  men,  for  I  saw  no  firearms  they  had  among  them;  but 
it  fell  out  to  my  mind  another  way. 

After  I  had  observed  the  outrageous  usage  of  the  three 
men  by  the  insolent  seamen,  I  observed  the  fellows  run  scat- 
tering about  the  land,  as  if  they  wanted  to  see  the  country.  I 
observed  that  the  three  other  men  had  liberty  to  go  also  where 
they  pleased;  but  they  sat  down  all  three  upon  the  ground, 
very  pensive,  and  looked  like  men  in  despair. 

This  put  me  in  mind  of  the  first  time  when  I  came  on  shore, 
and  began  to  look  about  me ;  how  I  gave  myself  over  for  lost ; 
how  wildly  I  looked  round  me;  what  dreadful  apprehensions 
I  had ;  and  how  I  lodged  in  the  tree  all  night,  for  fear  of  being 
devoured  by  wild  beasts. 

As  I  knew  nothing  that  night  of  the  supply  I  was  to  receive 
by  the  providential  driving  of  the  ship  nearer  the  land  by  the 
storms  and  tide,  by  which  I  have  since  been  so  long  nourished 
and  supported;  so  these  three  poor  desolate  men  knew  nothing 
how  certain  of  deliverance  and  supply  they  were,  how  near 
it  was  to  them,  and  how  effectually  and  really  they  were  in 
a  condition  of  safety,  at  the  same  time  that  they  thought  them- 
selves lost,  and  their  case  desperate. 

So  little  do  we  see  before  us  in  the  world,  and  so  much 

[333] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

reason  have  we  to  depend  cheerfully  upon  the  great  Maker  of 
the  world,  that  He  does  not  leave  His  creatures  so  absolutely 
destitute,  but  that,  in  the  worst  circumstances,  they  have  al- 
ways something  to  be  thankful  for,  and  sometimes  are  nearer 
their  deliverance  than  they  imagine;  nay,  are  even  brought  to 
their  deliverance  by  the  means  by  which  they  seem  to  be  brought 
to  their  destruction. 


[334] 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

Robinson   Discovers   Himself   to    the   English   Captain — Assists   Him 
In  Reducing  His  Mutinous  Crew,    Who  Submit   to  Him 

T  was  just  at  the  top  of  high-water  when  these  people  came 
on  shore;  and  while  partly  they  stood  parleying  with  the 
prisoners  they  brought,  and  partly  while  they  rambled 
about  to  see  what  kind  of  a  place  they  were  in,  they  had  care- 
lessly stayed  till  the  tide  was  spent,  and  the  water  was  ebbed 
considerably  away,  leaving  their  boat  aground. 

They  had  left  two  men  in  the  boat,  who,  as  I  found  after- 
wards, having  drank  a  little  too  much  brandy,  fell  asleep. 
However,  one  of  them  waking  sooner  than  the  other,  and  find- 
ing the  boat  too  fast  aground  for  him  to  stir  it,  hallooed  for 
the  rest,  who  were  straggling  about,  upon  which  they  all  soon 
came  to  the  boat;  but  it  was  past  all  their  strength  to  launch 
her,  the  boat  being  very  heavy,  and  the  shore  on  that  side  being 
a  soft  oozy  sand,  almost  like  a  quicksand. 

In  this  condition,  like  true  seamen,  who  are  perhaps  the 
least  of  all  mankind  given  to  forethought,  they  gave  it  over, 
and  away  they  strolled  about  the  country  again;  and  I  heard 
one  of  them  say  aloud  to  another,  calling  them  off  from  the 
boat,  "Why,  let  her  alone,  Jack,  can't  ye?  she  will  float  next 
tide;"  by  which  I  was  fully  confirmed  in  the  main  inquiry  of 
what  countrymen  they  were. 

All  this  while  I  kept  myself  very  close,  not  once  daring 

f335] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

to  stir  out  of  my  castle,  any  farther  than  to  my  place  of  ob- 
servation near  the  top  of  the  hill ;  and  very  glad  I  was  to  think 
how  well  it  was  fortified.  I  knew  it  was  no  less  than  ten  hours 
before  the  boat  could  be  on  float  again,  and  by  that  time  it  would 
be  dark,  and  I  might  be  at  more  liberty  to  see  their  motions,  and 
to  hear  their  discourse,  if  they  had  any. 

In  the  meantime,  I  fitted  myself  up  for  a  battle,  as  before, 
though  with  more  caution,  knowing  I  had  to  do  with  another 
kind  of  enemy  than  I  had  at  first.  I  ordered  Friday  also, 
whom  I  had  made  an  excellent  marksman  with  his  gun,  to  load 
himself  with  arms.  I  took  myself  two  fowling-pieces,  and  I 
gave  him  three  muskets.  My  figure,  indeed,  was  very  fierce. 
I  had  my  formidable  goat-skin  coat  on,  with  the  great  cap  I 
have  mentioned,  a  naked  sword  by  my  side,  two  pistols  in  my 
belt,  and  a  gun  upon  each  shoulder. 

It  was  my  design,  as  I  said  above,  not  to  have  made  any 
attempt  till  it  was  dark;  but  about  two  o'clock,  being  the  heat 
of  the  day,  I  found  that,  in  short,  they  were  all  gone  straggling 
into  the  wood,  and,  as  I  thought,  were  laid  down  to  sleep.  The 
three  poor  distressed  men,  too  anxious  for  their  condition  to 
get  any  sleep,  were,  however,  set  down  under  the  shelter  of  a 
great  tree,  at  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  me,  and,  as  I 
thought,  out  of  sight  of  any  of  the  rest. 

Upon  this  I  resolved  to  discover  myself  to  them,  and  learn 
something  of  their  condition.  Immediately  I  marched  in  the 
figure  as  above,  my  man  Friday  at  a  good  distance  behind  me, 
as  formidable  for  his  arms  as  I,  but  not  making  quite  so 
staring  a  spectre-like  figure  as  I  did. 

[336] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

I  came  as  near  them  undiscovered  as  I  could,  and  then,  be- 
fore any  of  them  saw  me,  I  called  aloud  to  them  in  Spanish, 
"What  are  ye,  gentlemen?" 

They  started  up  at  the  noise,  but  were  ten  times  more  con- 
founded when  they  saw  me,  and  the  uncouth  figure  that  I  made. 
They  made  no  answer  at  all,  but  I  thought  I  perceived  them 
just  going  to  fly  from  me,  when  I  spoke  to  them  in  English. 
"Gentlemen,"  said  I,  "do  not  be  surprised  at  me;  perhaps 
you  may  have  a  friend  near  you,  when  you  did  not  expect  it." 
"He  must  be  sent  directly  from  heaven  then,"  said  one  of 
them  very  gravely  to  me,  and  pulling  off  his  hat  at  the  same 
time  to  me,  "for  our  condition  is  past  the  help  of  man."  "All 
help  is  from  heaven,  sir,"  said  I.  "But  can  you  put  a  stranger 
in  the  way  how  to  help  you,  for  you  seem  to  me  to  be  in  some 
great  distress?  I  saw  you  when  you  landed;  and  when  you 
seemed  to  make  applications  to  the  brutes  that  came  with  you,  I 
saw  one  of  them  lift  up  his  sword  to  kill  you." 

The  poor  man,  with  tears  running  down  his  face,  and  trem- 
bling, looking  like  one  astonished,  returned,  "Am  I  talking  to 
God,  or  man?  Is  it  a  real  man,  or  an  angel?"  "Be  in  no 
fear  about  that,  sir,"  said  I.  "If  God  had  sent  an  angel  to 
relieve  you,  he  would  have  come  better  clothed,  and  armed 
after  another  manner  than  you  see  me  in.  Pray  lay  aside  your 
fears ;  I  am  a  man,  an  Englishman,  and  disposed  to  assist  you, 
you  see.  I  have  one  servant  only;  we  have  arms  and  am- 
munition; tell  us  freely,  can  we  serve  you?  What  is  your 
casef 

"Our  case."  said  he,  "sir,  is  too  long  to  tell  you  while 

[337] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

our  murderers  are  so  near;  but  in  short,  sir,  I  was  commander 
of  that  ship ;  my  men  have  mutinied  against  me,  they  have  been 
hardly  prevailed  on  not  to  murder  me ;  and  at  last  have  set  me 
on  shore  in  this  desolate  place,  with  these  two  men  with  me, 
one  my  mate,  the  other  a  passenger,  where  we  expected  to  per- 
ish, believing  the  place  to  be  uninhabited,  and  know  not  yet 
what  to  think  of  it." 

"Where  are  those  brutes,  your  enemies?"  said  I,  "Do  you 
know  where  they  are  gone?"  "There  they  lie,  sir,"  said  he, 
pointing  to  a  thicket  of  trees.  "My  heart  trembles  for  fear 
they  have  seen  us,  and  heard  you  speak.  If  they  have,  they  will 
certainly  murder  us  all." 

"Have  they  any  firearms?"  said  I.  He  answered,  "They 
have  only  two  pieces,  and  one  which  they  left  in  the  boat." 
"Well  then,"  said  I,  "leave  the  rest  to  me,  I  see  they  are  all 
asleep ;  it  is  an  easy  thing  to  kill  them  all ;  but  shall  we  rather 
take  them  prisoners?"  He  told  me  there  were  two  desperate 
villains  among  them  that  it  was  scarce  safe  to  show  any  mercy 
to ;  but  if  they  were  secured,  he  believed  all  the  rest  would  re- 
turn to  their  duty.  I  asked  him  which  they  were?  He  told  me 
he  could  not  at  that  distance  describe  them,  but  he  would  obey 
my  orders  in  anything  I  would  direct.  "Well,"  says  I,  "let  us 
retreat  out  of  their  view  or  hearing,  lest  they  awake,  and  we 
will  resolve  farther."  So  they  willingly  went  back  with  me, 
till  the  woods  covered  us  from  them. 

"Look  you,  sir,"  said  I,  "if  I  venture  upon  your  deliver- 
ance, are  you  willing  to  make  two  conditions  with  me?"  He 
anticipated  my  proposals,  by  telling  me  that  both  he  and  the 

[338] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

ship,  if  recovered,  should  be  wholly  directed  and  commanded 
by  me  in  everything;  and  if  the  ship  was  not  recovered,  he 
would  live  and  die  with  me  in  what  part  of  the  world  soever 
I  would  send  him ;  and  the  two  other  men  said  the  same. 

"Well,"  says  I,  "my  conditions  are  but  two.  1.  That  while 
you  stay  on  this  island  with  me,  you  will  not  pretend  to  any 
authority  here;  and  if  I  put  arms  into  your  hands,  you  will, 
upon  all  occasions,  give  them  up  to  me,  and  do  no  prejudice 
to  me  or  mine  upon  this  island;  and  in  the  meantime,  be  gov- 
erned by  my  orders.  2.  That  if  the  ship  is,  or  may  be,  recov- 
ered, you  will  carry  me  and  my  man  to  England,  passage  free." 

He  gave  me  all  the  assurances  that  the  invention  and  faith 
of  man  could  devise  that  he  would  comply  with  these  most  rea- 
sonable demands;  and,  besides,  would  owe  his  life  to  me,  and 
acknowledge  it  upon  all  occasions,  as  long  as  he  lived. 

"Well  then,"  said  I,  "here  are  three  muskets  for  you,  with 
powder  and  ball;  tell  me  next  what  you  think  is  proper  to  be 
done."  He  showed  all  the  testimony  of  his  gratitude  that  he 
was  able,  but  offered  to  be  wholly  guided  by  me.  I  told  him 
I  thought  it  was  hard  venturing  anything;  but  the  best  method 
I  could  think  of  was  to  fire  upon  them  at  once,  as  thej^  lay;  and 
if  any  was  not  killed  at  the  first  volley,  and  offered  to  submit, 
we  might  save  them,  and  so  put  it  wholly  upon  God's  provi- 
dence to  direct  the  shot. 

He  said  very  modestly  that  he  was  loth  to  kill  them,  if  he 
could  help  it;  but  that  those  two  were  incorrigible  villains,  and 
had  been  the  authors  of  all  the  mutiny  in  the  ship,  and  if  they 
escaped,  we  should  be  undone  still ;  for  they  would  go  on  board 

[339] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

and  bring  the  whole  ship's  company,  and  destroy  us  all.  "Well 
then,"  says  I,  "necessity  legitimates  my  advice,  for  it  is  the 
only  way  to  save  our  lives."  However,  seeing  him  still  cau- 
tious of  shedding  blood,  I  told  him  they  should  go  themselves, 
and  manage  as  they  found  convenient. 

In  the  middle  of  this  discourse  we  heard  some  of  them 
awake,  and  soon  after  we  saw  two  of  them  on  their  feet.  I 
asked  him  if  either  of  them  were  of  the  men  who  he  had  said 
were  the  heads  of  the  mutiny?  He  said,  "No."  "Well  then," 
said  I,  "you  may  let  them  escape;  and  Providence  seems  to 
have  wakened  them  on  purpose  to  save  themselves.  Now," 
says  I,  "if  the  rest  escape  you,  it  is  your  fault." 

Animated  by  this,  he  took  the  musket  I  had  given  him  in 
his  hand,  and  a  pistol  in  his  belt,  and  his  two  comrades  with 
him,  with  each  man  a  piece  in  his  hand.  The  two  men  who 
were  with  him  going  first  made  some  noise,  at  which  one  of  the 
seamen  who  was  awake  turned  about,  and  seeing  them  coming 
cried  out  to  the  rest ;  but  it  was  too  late  then,  for  the  moment  he 
cried  out  they  fired;  I  mean  the  two  men,  the  captain  wisely 
reserving  his  own  piece.  They  had  so  well  aimed  their  shot  at 
the  men  they  knew,  that  one  of  them  was  killed  on  the  spot, 
and  the  other  very  much  wounded;  but  not  being  dead,  he 
started  up  upon  his  feet,  and  called  eagerly  for  help  to  the 
other.  But  the  captain  stepping  to  him,  told  him  'twas  too  late 
to  cry  for  help,  he  should  call  upon  God  to  forgive  his  villainy; 
and  with  that  word  knocked  him  down  with  the  stock  of  his 
musket,  so  that  he  never  spoke  more.  There  were  three  more 
in  the  company,  and  one  of  them  was  also  slightly  wounded. 

[340] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

By  this  time  I  was  come ;  and  when  they  saw  their  danger,  and 
that  it  was  in  vain  to  resist,  they  begged  for  mercy.  The 
captain  told  them  he  would  spare  their  lives  if  they  would  give 
him  any  assurance  of  their  abhorrence  of  the  treachery  they 
had  been  guilty  of,  and  would  swear  to  be  faithful  to  him  in 
recovering  the  ship,  and  afterwards  in  carrying  her  back  to 
Jamaica,  from  whence  they  came.  They  gave  him  all  the 
protestations  of  their  sincerity  that  could  be  desired,  and  he  was 
willing  to  believe  them,  and  spare  their  lives,  which  I  was  not 
against,  only  I  obliged  him  to  keep  them  bound  hand  and  foot 
while  they  were  upon  the  island. 

While  this  was  doing,  I  sent  Friday  with  the  captain's  mate 
to  the  boat,  with  orders  to  secure  her,  and  bring  away  the  oars 
and  sail,  which  they  did;  and  by  and  by  three  straggling  men, 
that  were  (happily  for  them)  parted  from  the  rest,  came  back 
upon  hearing  the  guns  fired ;  and  seeing  their  captain,  who  be- 
fore was  their  prisoner,  now  their  conqueror,  they  submitted 
to  be  bound  also,  and  so  our  victory  was  complete. 

It  now  remained  that  the  captain  and  I  should  inquire  into 
one  another's  circumstances.  I  began  first,  and  told  him  my 
whole  history,  which  he  heard  with  an  attention  even  to  amaze- 
ment; and  particularly  at  the  wonderful  manner  of  my  being 
furnished  with  provisions  and  ammunition ;  and,  indeed,  as  my 
story  is  a  whole  collection  of  wonders,  it  affected  him  deeply. 
But  when  he  reflected  from  thence  upon  himself,  and  how  I 
seemed  to  have  been  preserved  there  on  purpose  to  save  his 
life,  the  tears  ran  down  his  face,  and  he  could  not  speak  a 
word  more. 

[341] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

After  this  communication  was  at  an  end,  I  carried  him  and 
his  two  men  into  my  apartment,  leading  them  in  just  where  I 
came  out,  viz.,  at  the  top  of  the  house,  where  I  refreshed  them 
with  such  provisions  as  I  had,  and  showed  them  all  the  con- 
trivances I  had  made  during  my  long,  long  inhabiting  that 
place. 

All  I  showed  them,  all  I  said  to  them,  was  perfectly  amaz- 
ing; but  above  all,  the  captain  admired  my  fortification,  and 
how  perfectly  I  had  concealed  my  retreat  with  a  grove  of  trees, 
which,  having  been  now  planted  near  twenty  years,  and  the 
trees  growing  much  faster  than  in  England,  was  become  a  little 
wood,  and  so  thick,  that  it  was  unpassable  in  any  part  of  it  but 
at  that  one  side  wThere  I  had  reserved  my  little  winding  passage 
into  it.  I  told  him  this  was  my  castle  and  my  residence,  but 
that  I  had  a  seat  in  the  country,  as  most  princes  have,  whither 
I  could  retreat  upon  occasion,  and  I  would  show  him  that  too 
another  time ;  but  at  present,  our  business  was  to  consider  how 
to  recover  the  ship.  He  agreed  with  me  as  to  that  but  told  me 
he  was  perfectly  at  a  loss  what  measures  to  take,  for  that  there 
were  still  six  and  twenty  hands  on  board,  who  having  entered 
into  a  cursed  conspiracy,  by  which  they  had  all  forfeited  their 
lives  to  the  law,  would  be  hardened  in  it  now  by  desperation, 
and  would  carry  it  on,  knowing  that  if  they  were  reduced,  they 
should  be  brought  to  the  gallows  as  soon  as  they  came  to  Eng- 
land, or  to  any  of  the  English  colonies ;  and  that  therefore  there 
would  be  no  attacking  them  with  so  small  a  number  as  we  were. 

I  mused  for  some  time  upon  what  he  said,  and  found  it  was 
a  very  rational  conclusion,  and  that  therefore  something  was 

[342] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

to  be  resolved  on  very  speedily,  as  well  to  draw  the  men  on 
board  into  some  snare  for  their  surprise,  as  to  prevent  their 
landing  upon  us,  and  destroying  us.  Upon  this  it  presently  oc- 
curred to  me  that  in  a  little  while  the  ship's  crew,  wondering 
what  was  become  of  their  comrades,  and  of  the  boat,  would  cer- 
tainly come  on  shore  in  their  other  boat  to  see  for  them;  and 
that  then,  perhaps,  they  might  come  armed,  and  be  too  strong 
for  us.     This  he  allowed  was  rational. 

Upon  this,  I  told  him  the  first  thing  we  had  to  do  was  to 
stave  the  boat,  which  lay  upon  the  beach,  so  that  they  might 
not  carry  her  off ;  and  taking  everything  out  of  her,  leave  her  so 
far  useless  as  not  to  be  fit  to  swim.  Accordingly  we  went  on 
board,  took  the  arms  which  were  left  on  board  out  of  her,  and 
what  else  we  found  there,  which  was  a  bottle  of  brandy,  and 
another  of  rum,  a  few  biscuit-cakes,  a  horn  of  powder,  and  a 
great  lump  of  sugar  in  a  piece  of  canvas — the  sugar  was  five 
or  six  pounds ;  all  of  which  was  very  welcome  to  me,  especially 
the  brandy  and  sugar,  of  which  I  had  had  none  left  for  many 
years. 

When  we  had  carried  all  these  things  on  shore  (the  oars, 
mast,  sail,  and  rudder  of  the  boat  were  carried  away  before, 
as  above),  we  knocked  a  great  hole  in  her  bottom  that  if  they 
had  come  strong  enough  to  master  us,  yet  they  could  not  carry 
off  the  boat. 

Indeed,  it  was  not  much  in  my  thoughts  that  we  could 
be  able  to  recover  the  ship;  but  my  view  was,  that  if  they 
went  away  without  the  boat,  I  did  not  much  question  to  make 
her  fit  again  to  carry  us  away  to  the  Leeward  Islands,  and 

[343] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

call  upon  our  friends  the  Spaniards  in  my  way;  for  I  had 
them  still  in  my  thoughts. 

While  we  were  thus  preparing  our  designs,  and  had  first, 
by  main  strength,  heaved  the  boat  up  upon  the  beach  so  high 
that  the  tide  would  not  float  her  off  at  high-water  mark;  and 
besides,  had  broke  a  hole  in  her  bottom  too  big  to  be  quickly 
stopped,  and  were  sat  down  musing  what  we  should  do,  we 
heard  the  ship  fire  a  gun,  and  saw  her  make  a  waft  with  her  flag 
as  a  signal  for  the  boat  to  come  on  board.  But  no  boat  stirred ; 
and  they  fired  several  times,  making  other  signals  for  the  boat. 

At  last  when  all  their  signals  and  firings  proved  fruitless, 
and  they  found  the  boat  did  not  stir,  we  saw  them,  by  the 
help  of  my  glasses,  hoist  another  boat  out,  and  row  towards 
the  shore ;  and  we  found,  as  they  approached,  that  there  was  no 
less  than  ten  men  in  her,  and  that  they  had  firearms  with  them. 

As  the  ship  lay  almost  two  leagues  from  the  shore  we  had 
a  full  view  of  them  as  they  came,  and  a  plain  sight  of  the  men, 
even  of  their  faces ;  because  the  tide  having  set  them  a  little  to 
the  east  of  the  other  boat,  they  rowed  up  under  shore,  to  come 
to  the  same  place  where  the  other  had  landed,  and  where  the 
boat  lay. 

By  this  means,  I  say,  we  had  a  full  view  of  them,  and  the 
captain  knew  the  persons  and  characters  of  all  the  men  in  the 
boat,  of  whom  he  said  that  there  were  three  very  honest  fellows, 
who,  he  was  sure,  were  led  into  this  conspiracy  by  the  rest,  be- 
ing overpowered  and  frightened;  but  that  as  for  the  boatswain, 
who,  it  seems,  was  the  chief  officer  among  them,  and  all  the  rest, 
they  were  as  outrageous  as  any  of  the  ship's  crew,  and  were  no 

[344] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

doubt  made  desperate  in  their  new  enterprise ;  and  terribly  ap- 
prehensive he  was  that  they  would  be  too  powerful  for  us. 

I  smiled  at  him,  and  told  him  that  men  in  our  circum- 
stances were  past  the  operation  of  fear;  that  seeing  almost 
every  condition  that  could  be  was  better  than  that  which  we 
were  supposed  to  be  in,  we  ought  to  expect  that  the  conse- 
quence, whether  death  or  life,  would  be  sure  to  be  a  deliver- 
ance. I  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  the  circumstances  of  my 
life,  and  whether  a  deliverance  were  not  worth  venturing  for? 
"And  where,  sir,"  said  I,  "is  your  belief  of  my  being  preserved 
here  on  purpose  to  save  your  life  which  elevated  you  a  little 
while  ago?  For  my  part,"  said  I,  "there  seems  to  be  but  one 
thing  amiss  in  all  the  prospect  of  it."  "What's  that?"  said  he. 
"Why,"  said  I,  "  'tis  that,  as  you  say,  there  are  three  or  four 
honest  fellows  among  them,  which  should  be  spared;  had  they 
been  all  of  the  wicked  part  of  the  crew  I  should  have  thought 
God's  providence  had  singled  them  out  to  deliver  them  into 
your  hands ;  for  depend  upon  it,  every  man  of  that  that  comes 
ashore  are  our  own,  and  shall  die  or  live  as  they  behave  to  us." 

As  I  spoke  this  with  a  raised  voice  and  cheerful  coun- 
tenance, I  found  it  greatly  encouraged  him;  so  we  set  vig- 
orously to  our  business.  We  had,  upon  the  first  appearance  of 
the  boat's  coming  from  the  ship,  considered  of  separating  our 
prisoners,  and  had,  indeed,  secured  them  effectually. 

Two  of  them,  of  whom  the  captain  was  less  assured  than 
ordinary,  I  sent  with  Friday  and  one  of  the  three  delivered  men 
to  my  cave,  where  they  were  remote  enough,  and  out  of  danger 

[345] 


ROBINSON   CRUSOE 

of  being  heard  or  discovered,  or  of  finding  their  way  out  of  the 
woods  if  they  could  have  delivered  themselves.  Here  they 
left  them  bound,  but  gave  them  provisions,  and  promised  them, 
if  they  continued  there  quietly,  to  give  them  their  liberty  in  a 
day  or  two ;  but  that  if  they  attempted  their  escape,  they  should 
be  put  to  death  without  mercy.  They  promised  faithfully  to 
bear  their  confinement  with  patience,  and  were  very  thankful 
that  they  had  such  good  usage  as  to  have  provisions  and  a  light 
left  them;  for  Friday  gave  them  candles  (such  as  we  made 
ourselves)  for  their  comfort;  and  they  did  not  know  but  that  he 
stood  sentinel  over  them  at  the  entrance. 

The  other  prisoners  had  better  usage.  Two  of  them  were 
kept  pinioned,  indeed,  because  the  captain  was  not  free  to 
trust  them ;  but  the  other  two  were  taken  into  my  service,  upon 
their  captain's  recommendation,  and  upon  their  solemnly  en- 
gaging to  live  and  die  with  us;  so  with  them  and  the  three 
honest  men  we  were  seven  men  well  armed;  and  I  made  no 
doubt  we  should  be  able  to  deal  well  enough  with  the  ten  that 
were  a-coming,  considering  that  the  captain  had  said  there 
were  three  or  four  honest  men  among  them  also. 

As  soon  as  they  got  to  the  place  where  their  other  boat 
lay,  they  ran  their  boat  into  the  beach,  and  came  all  on  shore, 
hauling  the  boat  up  after  them,  which  I  was  glad  to  see;  for 
I  was  afraid  they  would  rather  have  left  the  boat  at  an  anchor 
some  distance  from  the  shore,  with  some  hands  in  her  to  guard 
her,  and  so  we  should  not  be  able  to  seize  the  boat. 

Being  on  shore,  the  first  thing  they  did  was  to  run  to 

[346] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

their  other  boat;  and  it  was  easy  to  see  that  they  were  under 
a  great  surprise  to  find  her  stripped,  as  above,  of  all  that  was 
in  her,  and  a  great  hole  in  her  bottom. 

After  they  had  mused  a  while  upon  this,  they  set  up  two 
or  three  great  shouts,  hallooing  with  all  their  might,  to  try 
if  they  could  make  their  companions  hear;  but  all  was  to  no 
purpose.  Then  they  came  all  close  in  a  ring,  and  fired  a  volley 
of  their  small  arms,  which,  indeed,  we  heard,  and  the  echoes 
made  the  woods  ring.  But  it  was  all  one;  those  in  the  cave 
we  were  sure  could  not  hear,  and  those  in  our  keeping,  though 
they  heard  it  well  enough,  yet  durst  give  no  answer  to  them. 

They  were  so  astonished  at  the  surprise  of  this,  that,  as 
they  told  us  afterwards,  they  resolved  to  go  all  on  board  again, 
to  their  ship,  and  let  them  know  there  that  the  men  were  all 
murdered,  and  the  longboat  staved.  Accordingly,  they  im- 
mediately launched  their  boat  again,  and  got  all  of  them  on 
board. 

The  captain  was  terribly  amazed,  and  even  confounded  at 
this,  believing  they  would  go  on  board  the  ship  again,  and  set 
sail,  giving  their  comrades  for  lost,  and  so  he  should  still  lose 
the  ship,  which  he  was  in  hopes  we  should  have  recovered;  but 
he  was  quickly  ac  much  frightened  the  other  way. 

They  had  not  been  long  put  off  with  the  boat  but  we  per- 
ceived them  all  coming  on  shore  again ;  but  with  this  new  meas- 
ure in  their  conduct,  which  it  seems  they  consulted  together 
upon,  viz.,  to  leave  three  men  in  the  boat,  and  the  rest  to  go 
on  shore,  and  go  up  into  the  country  to  look  for  their  fellows. 

This  was  a  great  disappointment  to  us,  for  now  we  were  at 

[347] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

a  loss  what  to  do;  for  our  seizing  those  seven  men  on  shore 
would  be  no  advantage  to  us  if  we  let  the  boat  escape,  because 
they  would  then  row  away  to  the  ship,  and  then  the  rest  of  them 
would  be  sure  to  weigh  and  set  sail,  and  so  our  recovering  the 
ship  would  be  lost.  However,  we  had  no  remedy  but  to  wait 
and  see  what  the  issue  of  things  might  present.  The  seven 
men  came  on  shore,  and  the  three  who  remained  in  the  boat 
put  her  off  to  a  good  distance  from  the  shore,  and  came  to 
an  anchor  to  wait  for  them;  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  us 
to  come  at  them  in  the  boat. 

Those  that  came  on  shore  kept  close  together,  marching 
towards  the  top  of  the  little  hill  under  which  my  habitation 
lay ;  and  we  could  see  them  plainly,  though  they  could  not  per- 
ceive us.  We  could  have  been  very  glad  they  would  have  come 
nearer  to  us,  so  that  we  might  have  fired  at  them,  or  that  they 
would  have  gone  farther  off,  that  we  might  have  come  abroad. 

But  when  they  were  come  to  the  brow  of  the  hill,  where 
they  could  see  a  great  way  into  the  valleys  and  woods  which  lay 
towards  the  north-east  part,  and  where  the  island  lay  lowest, 
they  shouted  and  hallooed  till  they  were  weary;  and  not  car- 
ing, it  seems,  to  venture  far  from  the  shore,  nor  far  from  one 
another,  they  sat  down  together  under  a  tree,  to  consider  of  it. 
Had  they  thought  fit  to  have  gone  to  sleep  there,  as  the  other 
party  of  them  had  done,  they  had  done  the  job  for  us ;  but  they 
were  too  full  of  apprehensions  of  danger  to  venture  to  go  to 
sleep,  though  they  could  not  tell  what  the  danger  was  they  had 
to  fear  neither. 

The  captain  made  a  very  just  proposal  to  me  upon  this 

[348] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

consultation  of  theirs,  viz.,  that  perhaps  they  would  all  fire  a 
volley  again,  to  endeavor  to  make  their  fellows  hear,  and  that 
we  should  all  sally  upon  them,  just  at  the  juncture  when  their 
pieces  were  all  discharged,  and  they  would  certainly  yield,  and 
we  should  have  them  without  bloodshed.  I  liked  the  proposal, 
provided  it  was  done  while  we  were  near  enough  to  come  up 
to  them  before  they  could  load  their  pieces  again. 

But  this  event  did  not  happen,  and  we  lay  still  a  long  time, 
very  irresolute  what  course  to  take.  At  length  I  told  them 
there  would  be  nothing  to  be  done,  in  my  opinion,  till  night; 
and  then,  if  they  did  not  return  to  the  boat,  perhaps  we  might 
find  a  way  to  get  between  them  and  the  shore,  and  so  might 
use  some  stratagem  with  them  in  the  boat  to  get  them  on  shore. 

We  waited  a  great  while,  though  very  impatient  for  their 
removing ;  and  were  very  uneasy  when,  after  long  consultations, 
we  saw  them  start  all  up,  and  march  down  toward  the  sea.  It 
seems  they  had  such  dreadful  apprehensions  upon  them  of  the 
danger  of  the  place,  that  they  resolved  to  go  on  board  the  ship 
again,  give  their  companions  over  for  lost,  and  so  go  on  with 
their  intended  voyage  with  the  ship. 

As  soon  as  I  perceived  them  go  towards  the  shore,  I  im- 
agined it  to  be,  as  it  really  was,  that  they  had  given  over  their 
search,  and  were  for  going  back  again ;  and  the  captain,  as  soon 
as  I  told  him  my  thoughts,  was  ready  to  sink  at  the  apprehen- 
sions of  it;  but  I  presently  thought  of  a  stratagem  to  fetch 
them  back  again,  and  which  answered  my  end  to  a  tittle. 

I  ordered  Friday  and  the  captain's  mate  to  go  over  the 

[349] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

little  creek  westward,  towards  the  place  where  the  savages  came 
on  shore  when  Friday  was  rescued,  and  as  soon  as  they  came  to 
a  little  rising  ground,  at  about  half  a  mile  distance,  I  bade 
them  halloo  as  loud  as  they  could,  and  wait  till  they  found  the 
seamen  heard  them;  that  as  soon  as  ever  they  heard  the  sea- 
men answer  them,  they  should  return  it  again ;  and  then  keep- 
ing out  of  sight,  take  a  round,  always  answering  when  the 
others  hallooed,  to  draw  them  as  far  into  the  island,  and  among 
the  woods,  as  possible,  and  then  wheel  about  again  to  me  by 
such  ways  as  I  directed  them. 

They  were  just  going  into  the  boat  when  Friday  and  the 
mate  halloed;  and  they  presently  heard  them,  and  answering, 
ran  along  the  shore  westward,  towards  the  voice  they  heard, 
when  they  were  presently  stopped  by  the  creek,  where  the 
water  being  up,  they  could  not  get  over,  and  called  for  the  boat 
to  come  up  and  set  them  over,  as,  indeed,  I  expected. 

When  they  had  set  themselves  over,  I  observed  that  the 
boat  being  gone  up  a  good  way  into  the  creek,  and,  as  it  were, 
in  a  harbor  within  the  land,  they  took  one  of  the  three  men  out 
of  her  to  go  along  with  them,  and  left  only  two  in  the  boat, 
having  fastened  her  to  the  stump  of  a  little  tree  on  the  shore. 

That  was  what  I  wished  for;  and  immediately,  leaving 
Friday  and  the  captain's  mate  to  their  business,  I  took  the  rest 
with  me,  and  crossing  the  creek  out  of  their  sight,  we  surprised 
the  two  men  before  they  were  aware;  one  of  them  lying  on 
shore,  and  the  other  being  in  the  boat.  The  fellow  on  shore 
was  between  sleeping  and  waking,  and  going  to  start  up.     The 

[350] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

captain,  who  was  foremost,  ran  in  upon  him,  and  knocked  him 
down,  and  then  called  out  to  him  in  the  boat  to  yield,  or  he  was 
a  dead  man. 

There  needed  very  few  arguments  to  persuade  a  single  man 
to  yield  when  he  saw  five  men  upon  him,  and  his  comrade 
knocked  down ;  besides,  this  was,  it  seems,  one  of  the  three  who 
were  not  so  hearty  in  the  mutiny  as  the  rest  of  the  crew  and 
therefore  was  easily  persuaded  not  only  to  yield  but  afterwards 
to  join  very  sincerely  with  us. 

In  the  meantime  Friday  and  the  captain's  mate  so  well 
managed  their  business  with  the  rest  that  they  drew  them,  by 
hallooing  and  answering,  from  one  hill  to  another,  and  from 
one  wood  to  another,  till  they  not  only  heartily  tired  them,  but 
left  them  where  they  were  very  sure  they  could  not  reach  back 
to  the  boat  before  it  was  dark ;  and,  indeed,  they  were  heartily 
tired  themselves  also  by  the  time  they  came  back  to  us. 

We  had  nothing  now  to  do  but  to  watch  for  them  in  the 
dark,  and  to  fall  upon  them,  so  as  to  make  sure  work  with 
them. 

It  was  several  hours  after  Friday  came  back  to  me  before 
they  came  back  to  their  boat;  and  we  could  hear  the  foremost 
of  them,  long  before  they  came  quite  up,  calling  to  those  be- 
hind to  come  along,  and  could  also  hear  them  answer  and 
complain  how  lame  and  tired  they  were,  and  not  able  to  come 
any  faster;  which  was  very  welcome  news  to  us. 

At  length  they  came  up  to  the  boat;  but  'tis  impossible  to 
express  their  confusion  when  they  found  the  boat  fast  aground 
in  the  creek,  the  tide  ebbed  out,  and  their  two  men  gone.     We 

[351] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

could  hear  them  call  to  one  another  in  a  most  lamentable  man- 
ner, telling  one  another  they  were  gotten  onto  an  enchanted 
island ;  that  either  there  were  inhabitants  on  it,  and  they  should 
all  be  murdered,  or  else  there  were  devils  and  spirits  on  it,  and 
they  should  be  all  carried  away  and  devoured. 

They  hallooed  again,  and  called  their  two  comrades  by  their 
names  a  great  many  times;  but  no  answer.  After  some  time 
we  could  see  them,  by  the  little  light  there  was,  run  about, 
wringing  their  hands  like  men  in  despair,  and  that  sometimes 
they  would  go  and  sit  down  in  the  boat  to  rest  themselves; 
then  come  ashore  again,  and  walk  about  again,  and  so  the  same 
thing  over  again. 

My  men  would  fain  have  me  give  them  leave  to  fall  upon 
them  at  once  in  the  dark;  but  I  was  willing  to  take  them  at 
some  advantage,  so  to  spare  them,  and  kill  as  few  of  them  as 
I  could;  and  especially  I  was  unwilling  to  hazard  the  killing 
any  of  our  own  men,  knowing  the  others  were  very  well  armed. 
I  resolved  to  wait,  to  see  if  they  did  not  separate;  and,  there- 
fore, to  make  sure  of  them,  I  drew  my  ambuscade  nearer,  and 
ordered  Friday  and  the  captain  to  creep  upon  their  hands  and 
feet,  as  close  to  the  ground  as  they  could,  that  they  might  not 
be  discovered,  and  get  as  near  them  as  they  could  possibly,  be- 
fore they  offered  to  fire. 

They  had  not  been  long  in  that  posture  but  that  the  boat- 
swain, who  was  the  principal  ringleader  of  the  mutiny,  and  had 
now  shown  himself  the  most  dejected  and  dispirited  of  all  the 
rest,  came  walking  towards  them,  with  two  more  of  their  crew. 
The  captain  was  so  eager,  as  having  this  principal  rogue  so 

[352] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

much  in  his  power,  that  he  could  hardly  have  patience  to  let 
him  come  so  near  as  to  be  sure  of  him,  for  they  only  heard 
his  tongue  before;  but  when  they  came  nearer,  the  captain 
and  Friday,  starting  up  on  their  feet,  let  fly  at  them. 

The  boatswain  was  killed  upon  the  spot ;  the  next  man  was 
shot  into  the  body,  and  fell  just  by  him,  though  he  did  not 
die  till  an  hour  or  two  after ;  and  the  third  ran  for  it. 

At  the  noise  of  the  fire  I  immediately  advanced  with  my 
whole  army,  which  was  now  eight  men,  viz.,  myself,  gen- 
eralissimo ;  Friday,  my  lieutenant-general ;  the  captain  and  his 
two  men,  and  the  three  prisoners  of  war,  whom  we  had  trusted 
with  arms. 

We  came  upon  them,  indeed,  in  the  dark,  so  that  they  could 
not  see  our  number;  and  I  made  the  man  we,  had  left  in  the 
boat,  who  was  now  one  of  us,  call  to  them  by  name,  to  try  if 
I  could  bring  them  to  a  parley,  and  so  might  perhaps  reduce 
them  to  terms,  which  fell  out  just  as  we  desired;  for  indeed  it 
was  easy  to  think,  as  their  condition  then  was,  they  would  be 
very  willing  to  capitulate.  So  he  calls  out  as  loud  as  he  could 
to  one  of  them,  "Tom  Smith!  Tom  Smith!"  Tom  Smith 
answered  immediately,  "Who's  that?  Robinson?"  For  it 
seems  he  knew  his  voice.  The  other  answered,  "Ay,  ay;  for 
God's  sake,  Tom  Smith,  throw  down  your  arms  and  yield,  or 
you  are  all  dead  men  this  moment." 

"Who  must  we  yield  to?  Where  are  they?"  says  Smith 
again.  "Here  they  are,"  says  he;  "here's  our  captain,  and 
fifty  men  with  him,  have  been  hunting  you  this  two  hours ;  the 

[353] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

boatswain  is  killed,  Will  Frye  is  wounded,  and  I  am  a  prisoner ; 
and  if  you  do  not  yield,  you  are  all  lost." 

"Will  they  give  us  quarter  then,"  says  Tom  Smith,  "and 
we  will  yield?"  "I'll  go  and  ask,  if  you  promise  to  yield," 
says  Robinson.  So  he  asked  the  captain,  and  the  captain  then 
calls  himself  out,  "You,  Smith,  you  know  my  voice,  if  you  lay 
down  your  arms  immediately,  and  submit,  you  shall  have  your 
lives,  all  but  Will  Atkins." 


[354] 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

Atkvns  Entreats  the  Captain  to  Spare  His  Life — The  Latter  Recovers 
His  Vessel  from  the  Mutineers,  and  Robinson  Leaves  the  Island 

UPON  this  Will  Atkins  cried  out,  "For  God's  sake,  cap- 
tain, give  me  quarter;  what  have  I  done?  They  have 
been  all  as  bad  as  I" ;  which,  by  the  way,  was  not  true 
neither;  for,  it  seems,  this  Will  Atkins  was  the  first  man  that 
laid  hold  of  the  captain  when  they  first  mutinied,  and  used  him 
barbarously,  in  tying  his  hands,  and  giving  him  injurious  lan- 
guage. However,  the  captain  told  him  he  must  lay  down  his 
arms  at  discretion,  and  trust  to  the  governor's  mercy ;  by  which 
he  meant  me,  for  they  all  called  me  governor. 

In  a  word  they  all  laid  down  their  arms,  and  begged  their 
lives;  and  I  sent  the  man  that  had  parleyed  with  them  and 
two  more,  who  bound  them  all;  and  then  my  great  army  of 
fifty  men,  which,  particularly  with  those  three,  were  all  but 
eight,  came  up  and  seized  upon  them  all,  and  upon  their  boat; 
only  that  I  kept  myself  and  one  more  out  of  sight  for  reasons 
of  state. 

Our  next  work  was  to  repair  the  boat,  and  think  of  seizing 
the  ship ;  and  as  for  the  captain,  now  he  had  leisure  to  parley 
with  them,  he  expostulated  with  them  upon  the  villainy  of  their 
practices  with  him,  and  at  length  upon  the  farther  wickedness 
of  their  design,  and  how  certainly  it  must  bring  them  to  misery 
and  distress  in  the  end,  and  perhaps  to  the  gallows. 

[355] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

They  all  appeared  very  penitent,  and  begged  hard  for  their 
lives.  As  for  that,  he  told  them  they  were  none  of  his  prison- 
ers, but  the  commander  of  the  island;  that  they  thought  they 
had  set  him  on  shore  in  a  barren  uninhabited  island;  but  it 
had  pleased  God  so  to  direct  them  that  the  island  was  in- 
habited, and  that  the  governor  was  an  Englishman;  that  he 
might  hang  them  all  there,  if  he  pleased;  but  as  he  had  given 
them  all  quarter,  he  supposed  he  would  send  them  to  England, 
to  be  dealt  with  there  as  justice  required,  except  Atkins,  whom 
he  was  commanded  by  the  governor  to  advise  to  prepare  for 
death,  for  that  he  would  be  hanged  in  the  morning. 

Though  this  was  all  a  fiction  of  his  own,  yet  it  had  its  de- 
sired effect.  Atkins  fell  upon  his  knees,  to  beg  the  captain  to 
intercede  with  the  governor  for  his  life ;  and  all  the  rest  begged 
of  him,  for  God's  sake,  that  they  might  not  be  sent  to  Eng- 
land. 

It  now  occurred  to  me  that  the  time  of  our  deliverance 
was  come,  and  that  it  would  be  a  most  easy  thing  to  bring  these 
fellows  in  to  be  hearty  in  getting  possession  of  the  ship;  so  I 
retired  in  the  dark  from  them,  that  they  might  not  see  what 
kind  of  a  governor  they  had,  and  called  the  captain  to  me. 
When  I  called,  as  at  a  good  distance,  one  of  the  men  was  or- 
dered to  speak  again,  and  say  to  the  captain,  "Captain,  the 
commander  calls  for  you."  And  presently  the  captain  replied, 
"Tell  his  excellency  I  am  just  a-coming."  This  more  perfectly 
amazed  them,  and  they  all  believed  that  the  commander  was 
just  by  with  his  fifty  men. 

Upon  the  captain's  coming  to  me,  I  told  him  my  project  for 

[356] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

seizing  the  ship,  which  he  liked  wonderfully  well,  and  resolved 
to  put  it  in  execution  the  next  morning.  But  in  order  to  exe- 
cute it  with  more  art,  and  secure  of  success,  I  told  him  we 
must  divide  the  prisoners,  and  that  he  should  go  and  take 
Atkins  and  two  more  of  the  worst  of  them,  and  send  them 
pinioned  to  the  cave  where  the  others  lay.  This  was  committed 
to  Friday  and  the  two  men  who  came  on  shore  with  the  captain. 

They  conveyed  them  to  the  cave,  as  to  a  prison.  And 
it  was,  indeed,  a  dismal  place,  especially  to  men  in  their  con- 
dition. The  others  I  ordered  to  my  bower,  as  I  called  it,  of 
which  I  have  given  a  full  description;  and  as  it  was  fenced  in, 
and  they  pinioned,  the  place  was  secure  enough,  considering 
they  were  upon  their  behavior. 

To  these  in  the  morning  I  sent  the  captain,  who  was  to 
enter  into  a  parley  with  them ;  in  a  word,  to  try  them,  and  tell 
me  whether  he  thought  they  might  be  trusted  or  no  to  go  on 
board  and  surprise  the  ship.  He  talked  to  them  of  the  injury 
done  him,  of  the  condition  they  were  brought  to;  and  that 
though  the  governor  had  given  them  quarter  for  their  lives  as  to 
the  present  action,  yet  that  if  they  were  sent  to  England  they 
would  all  be  hanged  in  chains,  to  be  sure ;  but  that  if  they  would 
join  in  so  just  an  attempt  as  to  recover  the  ship,  he  would  have 
the  governor's  engagement  for  their  pardon. 

Any  one  may  guess  how  readily  such  a  proposal  would  be 
accepted  by  men  in  their  condition.  They  fell  down  on  their 
knees  to  the  captain,  and  promised,  with  the  deepest  impreca- 
tions, that  they  would  be  faithful  to  him  to  the  last  drop,  and 
that  they  should  owe  their  lives  to  him  and  would  go  with 

[357] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

him  all  over  the  world ;  that  they  would  own  him  for  a  father  to 
them  as  long  as  they  lived. 

"Y/ell,"  says  the  captain,  "I  must  go  and  tell  the  governor 
what  you  say,  and  see  what  I  can  do  to  bring  him  to  consent 
to  it."  So  he  brought  me  an  account  of  the  temper  he  found 
them  in,  and  that  he  verily  believed  they  would  be  faithful. 

However,  that  we  might  be  very  secure,  I  told  him  he 
should  go  back  again  and  choose  out  five  of  them,  and  tell  them 
they  might  see  that  he  did  not  want  men,  that  he  would  take 
out  those  five  to  be  his  assistants,  and  that  the  governor  would 
keep  the  other  two  and  the  three  that  were  sent  prisoners  to 
the  castle,  my  cave,  as  hostages  for  the  fidelity  of  those  five; 
and  that  if  they  proved  unfaithful  in  the  execution,  the  five 
hostages  should  be  hanged  in  chains  alive  upon  the  shore. 

This  looked  severe,  and  convinced  them  that  the  governor 
was  in  earnest.  However,  they  had  no  way  left  then  but  to 
accept  it ;  and  it  was  now  the  business  of  the  prisoners  as  much 
as  of  the  captain,  to  persuade  the  other  five  to  do  their  duty. 

Our  strength  was  now  thus  ordered  for  the  expedition. 
1.  The  captain,  his  mate,  and  passenger.  2.  Then  the  two 
prisoners  of  the  first  gang,  to  whom,  having  their  characters 
from  the  captain,  I  had  given  their  liberty,  and  trusted  them 
with  arms.  3.  The  other  two  whom  I  had  kept  till  now  in 
my  bower,  pinioned,  but  upon  the  captain's  motion  had  now 
released.  4.  These  five  released  at  last;  so  that  they  were 
twelve  in  all,  besides  five  we  kept  prisoners  in  the  cave  for 
hostages. 

I  asked  the  captain  if  he  was  willing  to  venture  with  these 

[358] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

hands  on  board  the  ship ;  for  as  for  me  and  my  man  Friday,  I 
did  not  think  it  was  proper  for  us  to  stir,  having  seven  men 
left  behind,  and  it  was  employment  enough  for  us  to  keep 
them  asunder  and  supply  them  with  victuals.  As  to  the  five 
in  the  cave,  I  resolved  to  keep  them  fast;  but  Friday  went  in 
twice  a  day  to  them,  to  supply  them  with  necessaries,  and  I 
made  the  other  two  carry  provisions  to  a  certain  distance,  where 
Friday  was  to  take  it. 

When  I  showed  myself  to  the  two  hostages  it  was  with  the 
captain,  who  told  them  I  was  the  person  the  governor  had  or- 
dered to  look  after  them,  and  that  it  was  the  governor's  pleas- 
ure they  should  not  stir  anywhere  but  by  my  direction ;  that  if 
they  did,  they  should  be  fetched  into  the  castle,  and  be  laid  in 
irons ;  so  that  as  we  never  suffered  them  to  see  me  as  governor, 
so  I  now  appeared  as  another  person,  and  spoke  of  the  gov- 
ernor, the  garrison,  the  castle,  and  the  like,  upon  all  occasions. 

The  captain  now  had  no  difficulty  before  him  but  to  furnish 
his  two  boats,  stop  the  breach  of  one,  and  man  them.  He  made 
his  passenger  captain  of  one,  with  four  other  men ;  and  himself, 
and  his  mate,  and  five  more  went  in  the  other;  and  they  con- 
trived their  business  very  well,  for  they  came  up  to  the  ship 
about  midnight.  As  soon  as  they  came  within  call  of  the  ship, 
he  made  Robinson  hail  them,  and  tell  them  they  had  brought 
off  the  men  and  the  boat,  but  that  it  was  a  long  time  before 
they  had  found  them,  and  the  like,  holding  them  in  a  chat  till 
they  came  to  the  ship's  side;  when  the  captain  and  the  mate  en- 
tering first,  with  their  arms,  immediately  knocked  down  the 
second  mate  and  carpenter  with  the  butt-end  of  their  muskets, 

[359] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

being  very  faithfully  seconded  by  their  men.  They  secured  all 
the  rest  that  were  upon  the  main  and  quarter-decks,  and  began 
to  fasten  the  hatches  to  keep  them  down  who  were  below; 
when  the  other  boat  and  their  men  entering  at  the  forechains, 
secured  the  forecastle  of  the  ship,  and  the  scuttle  which  went 
down  into  the  cookroom,  making  three  men  they  found  there 
prisoners. 

When  this  was  done,  and  all  safe  upon  the  deck,  the  captain 
ordered  the  mate,  with  three  men,  to  break  into  the  round- 
house, where  the  new  rebel  captain  lay,  and  having  taken  the 
alarm  was  gotten  up,  and  with  two  men  and  a  boy  had  gotten 
firearms  in  their  hands;  and  when  the  mate  with  a  crow  split 
open  the  door,  the  new  captain  and  his  men  fired  boldly  among 
them,  and  wounded  the  mate  with  a  musket-ball,  which  broke 
his  arm,  and  wounded  two  more  of  the  men,  but  killed  no- 
body. 

The  mate  calling  for  help,  rushed  however  into  the  round- 
house, wounded  as  he  was,  and  with  his  pistol  shot  the  new 
captain  through  the  head,  the  bullet  entering  at  his  mouth  and 
came  out  again  behind  one  of  his  ears,  so  that  he  never  spoke  a 
word;  upon  which  the  rest  yielded,  and  the  ship  was  taken  ef- 
fectually, without  any  more  lives  lost. 

As  soon  as  the  ship  was  thus  secured,  the  captain  ordered 
seven  guns  to  be  fired,  which  was  the  signal  agreed  upon  with 
me  to  give  me  notice  of  his  success,  which  you  may  be  sure  I 
was  very  glad  to  hear,  having  sat  watching  upon  the  shore 
for  it  till  near  two  of  the  clock  in  the  morning. 

Having  thus  heard  the  signal  plainly,  I  laid  me  down;  and 

[360] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

it  having  been  a  day  of  great  fatigue  to  me,  I  slept  very  sound, 
till  I  was  something  surprised  with  the  noise  of  a  gun;  and 
presently  starting  up,  I  heard  a  man  call  me  by  the  name  of 
"Governor,  Governor,"  and  presently  I  knew  the  captain's 
voice ;  when  climbing  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  there  he  stood, 
and  pointing  to  the  ship,  he  embraced  me  in  his  arms.  "My 
dear  friend  and  deliverer,"  says  he,  "there's  your  ship,  for  she  is 
all  yours,  and  so  are  we,  and  all  that  belong  to  her."  I  cast 
my  eyes  to  the  ship,  and  there  she  rode  within  little  more  than 
half  mile  of  the  shore ;  for  they  had  weighed  her  anchor  as  soon 
as  they  were  masters  of  her,  and  the  weather  being  fair,  had 
brought  her  to  an  anchor  just  against  the  mouth  of  the  little 
creek,  and  the  tide  being  up,  the  captain  had  brought  the  pin- 
nace in  near  the  place  where  I  at  first  landed  my  rafts,  and  so 
landed  just  at  my  door. 

I  was  at  first  ready  to  sink  down  with  the  surprise;  for 
I  saw  my  deliverance,  indeed,  visibly  put  into  my  hands,  all 
things  easy,  and  a  large  ship  just  ready  to  carry  me  away 
whither  I  pleased  to  go.  At  first,  for  some  time  I  was  not  able 
to  answer  him  one  word;  but  as  he  had  taken  me  in  his  arms, 
I  held  fast  by  him,  or  I  should  have  fallen  to  the  ground. 

He  perceived  the  surprise,  and  immediately  pulled  a  bottle 
out  of  his  pocket,  and  gave  me  a  dram  of  cordial,  which  he 
had  brought  on  purpose  for  me.  After  I  drank  it,  I  sat  down 
upon  the  ground;  and  though  it  brought  me  to  myself,  yet  it 
was  a  good  while  before  I  could  speak  a  word  to  him. 

All  this  while  the  poor  man  was  in  as  great  an  ecstasy  as  I, 
only  not  under  any  surprise,  as  I  was ;  and  he  said  a  thousand 

[361] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

kind  tender  things  to  me,  to  compose  me  and  bring  me  to  my- 
self. But  such  was  the  flood  of  joy  in  my  breast,  that  it  put 
all  my  spirits  into  confusion.  At  last  it  broke  out  into  tears, 
and  in  a  little  while  after  I  recovered  my  speech. 

Then  I  took  my  turn,  and  embraced  him  as  my  deliverer, 
and  we  rejoiced  together.  I  told  him  I  looked  upon  him  as 
a  man  sent  from  heaven  to  deliver  me,  and  that  the  whole 
transaction  seemed  to  be  a  chain  of  wonders;  that  such  things 
as  these  were  the  testimonies  we  had  of  a  secret  hand  of  Provi- 
dence governing  the  world,  and  an  evidence  that  the  eyes  of  an 
infinite  Power  could  search  into  the  remotest  corner  of  the 
world,  and  send  help  to  the  miserable  whenever  He  pleased. 

I  forgot  not  to  lift  up  my  heart  in  thankfulness  to  heaven; 
and  what  heart  could  forbear  to  bless  Him,  who  had  not  only 
in  a  miraculous  manner  provided  for  one  in  such  a  wilderness, 
and  in  such  a  desolate  condition,  but  from  whom  every  deliv- 
erance must  always  be  acknowledged  to  proceed? 

When  we  had  talked  a  while,  the  captain  told  me  he  had 
brought  me  some  little  refreshment,  such  as  the  ship  afforded, 
and  such  as  the  wretches  that  had  been  so  long  his  masters  had 
not  plundered  him  of.  Upon  this  he  called  aloud  to  the  boat, 
and  bid  his  men  bring  the  things  ashore  that  were  for  the  gov- 
ernor; and,  indeed,  it  was  a  present  as  if  I  had  been  one,  not 
that  was  to  be  carried  away  along  with  them,  but  as  if  I  had 
been  to  dwell  upon  the  island  still,  and  they  were  to  go  without 
me. 

First,  he  had  brought  me  a  case  of  bottles  full  of  excellent 
cordial  waters,  six  large  bottles  of  Madeira  wine  (the  bottles 

[362] 


©  c 


"  At  first,  for  some  time,  I  was  not  able  to  answer  him  one  word ;  but  as  he  had  taken  me  in  his 
arms,  I  held  fast  by  him,  or  I  should  have  fallen  to  the  ground  " 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

held  two  quarts  apiece),  two  pounds  of  excellent  good  tobacco, 
twelve  good  pieces  of  the  ship's  beef,  and  six  pieces  of  pork, 
with  a  bag  of  peas,  and  about  a  hundredweight  of  biscuit. 

He  brought  me  also  a  box  of  sugar,  a  box  of  flour,  a  bag 
full  of  lemons,  and  two  bottles  of  lime-juice,  and  abundance  of 
other  things ;  but  besides  these,  and  what  was  a  thousand  times 
more  useful  to  me,  he  brought  me  six  clean  new  shirts,  six  very 
good  neckcloths,  two  pair  of  gloves,  one  pair  of  shoes,  a  hat, 
and  one  pair  of  stockings,  and  a  very  good  suit  of  clothes  of 
his  own,  which  had  been  worn  but  very  little;  in  a  word,  he 
clothed  me  from  head  to  foot. 

It  was  a  very  kind  and  agreeable  present,  as  any  one  may 
imagine,  to  one  in  my  circumstances;  but  never  was  anything 
in  the  world  of  that  kind  so  unpleasant,  awkward,  and  uneasy, 
as  it  was  to  me  to  wear  such  clothes  at  their  first  putting  on. 

After  these  ceremonies  passed,  and  after  all  his  good  things 
were  brought  into  my  little  apartment,  we  began  to  consult 
what  was  to  be  done  with  the  prisoners  we  had;  for  it  was 
worth  considering  whether  we  might  venture  to  take  them 
with  us  or  no,  especially  two  of  them,  whom  we  knew  to  be 
incorrigible  and  refractory  to  the  last  degree;  and  the  captain 
said  he  knew  they  were  such  rogues,  that  there  was  no  obliging 
them;  and  if  he  did  carry  them  away,  it  must  be  in  irons,  as 
malefactors,  to  be  delivered  over  to  justice  at  the  first  English 
colony  he  could  come  at ;  and  I  found  that  the  captain  himself 
was  very  anxious  about  it. 

Upon  this  I  told  him  that,  if  he  desired  it,  I  durst  under- 
take to  bring  the  two  men  he  spoke  of  to  make  it  their  own 

[363] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

request  that  he  should  leave  them  upon  the  island.     "I  should 
be  very  glad  of  that,"  says  the  captain,  "with  all  my  heart." 

"Well,"  says  I,  "I  will  send  for  them  up,  and  talk  with 
them  for  you."  So  I  caused  Friday  and  the  two  hostages,  for 
they  were  now  discharged,  their  comrades  having  performed 
their  promise ;  I  say  I  caused  them  to  go  to  the  cave  and  bring 
up  the  five  men,  pinioned  as  they  were,  to  the  bower,  and  keep 
them  there  till  I  came. 

After  some  time  I  came  thither,  dressed  in  my  new  habit; 
and  now  I  was  called  governor  again.  Being  all  met,  and  the 
captain  with  me,  I  caused  the  men  to  be  brought  before  me, 
and  I  told  them  I  had  had  a  full  account  of  their  villainous 
behavior  to  the  captain,  and  how  they  had  run  away  with  the 
ship,  and  were  preparing  to  commit  farther  robberies,  but  that 
Providence  had  ensnared  them  in  their  own  ways,  and  that  they 
were  fallen  into  the  pit  which  they  had  digged  for  others. 

I  let  them  know  that  by  my  direction  the  ship  had  been 
seized,  that  she  lay  now  in  the  road,  and  they  might  see,  by  and 
by,  that  their  new  captain  had  received  the  reward  of  his  vil- 
lainy, for  that  they  might  see  him  hanging  at  the  yard-arm; 
that  as  to  them,  I  wanted  to  know  what  they  had  to  say  why 
I  should  not  execute  them  as  pirates,  taken  in  the  fact,  as  by 
my  commission  they  could  not  doubt  I  had  authority  to  do. 

One  of  them  answered  in  the  name  of  the  rest  that  they  had 
nothing  to  say  but  this*  that  when  they  were  taken  the  captain 
promised  them  their  lives,  and  they  humbly  implored  my 
mercy.  But  I  told  them  I  knew  not  what  mercy  to  show  them; 
for  as  for  myself,  I  had  resolved  to  quit  the  island  with  all  my 

[364] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

men,  and  had  taken  passage  with  the  captain  to  go  for  Eng 
land.  And  as  for  the  captain,  he  could  not  carry  them  to 
England  other  than  as  prisoners  in  irons,  to  be  tried  for  mu- 
tiny, and  running  away  with  the  ship;  the  consequence  of 
which,  they  must  needs  know,  would  be  the  gallows;  so  that  I 
could  not  tell  which  was  best  for  them,  unless  they  had  a  mind 
to  take  their  fate  in  the  island.  If  they  desired  that,  I  did  not 
care,  as  I  had  liberty  to  leave  it.  I  had  some  inclination  to 
give  them  their  lives,  if  they  thought  they  could  shift  on  shore. 

They  seemed  very  thankful  for  it  and  said  they  would  much 
rather  venture  to  stay  there  than  to  be  carried  to  England  to 
be  hanged ;  so  I  left  it  on  that  issue. 

However,  the  captain  seemed  to  make  some  difficulty  of  it, 
as  if  he  durst  not  leave  them  there.  Upon  this  I  seemed  a 
little  angry  with  the  captain,  and  told  him  that  they  were  my 
prisoners,  not  his ;  and  that  seeing  I  had  offered  them  so  much 
favor,  I  would  be  as  good  as  my  word;  and  that  if  he  did  not 
think  fit  to  consent  to  it,  I  would  set  them  at  liberty,  as  I 
found  them ;  and  if  he  did  not  like  it,  he  might  take  them  again 
if  he  could  catch  them. 

Upon  this  they  appeared  very  thankful,  and  I  accordingly 
set  them  at  liberty,  and  bade  them  retire  into  the  woods  to  the 
place  whence  they  came,  and  I  would  leave  them  some  fire- 
arms, some  ammunition,  and  some  directions  how  they  should 
live  very  well,  if  they  thought  fit. 

Upon  this  I  prepared  to  go  on  board  the  ship,  but  told  the 
captain  that  I  would  stay  that  night  to  prepare  my  things,  and 
desired  him  to  go  on  board  in  the  meantime,  and  keep  all  right 

[365] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

in  the  ship,  and  send  the  boat  on  shore  the  next  day  for  me; 
ordering  him,  in  the  meantime,  to  cause  the  new  captain,  who 
was  killed,  to  be  hanged  at  the  yard-arm,  that  these  men  might 
see  him. 

When  the  captain  was  gone,  I  sent  for  the  men  up  to  me 
to  my  apartment,  and  entered  seriously  into  discourse  with 
them  of  their  circumstances.  I  told  them  I  thought  they  had 
made  a  right  choice;  that  if  the  captain  carried  them  away, 
they  would  certainly  be  hanged.  I  showed  them  the  new  cap- 
tain hanging  at  the  yard-arm  of  the  ship,  and  told  them  they 
had  nothing  less  to  expect. 

When  they  had  all  declared  their  willingness  to  stay,  I  then 
told  them  I  would  let  them  into  the  story  of  my  living  there, 
and  put  them  into  the  way  of  making  it  easy  to  them.  Ac- 
cordingly I  gave  them  the  whole  history  of  the  place,  and  of 
my  coming  to  it,  showed  them  my  fortifications,  the  way  I  made 
my  bread,  planted  my  corn,  cured  my  grapes ;  and  in  a  word,  all 
that  was  necessary  to  make  them  easy.  I  told  them  the  story 
also  of  the  sixteen  Spaniards  that  were  to  be  expected,  for 
whom  I  left  a  letter,  and  made  them  promise  to  treat  them  in 
common  with  themselves. 

I  left  them  my  firearms,  viz.,  five  muskets,  three  fowling- 
pieces,  and  three  swords.  I  had  above  a  barrel  and  half  of 
powder  left ;  for  after  the  first  year  or  two  I  used  but  little,  and 
wasted  none.  I  gave  them  a  description  of  the  way  I  managed 
the  goats,  and  directions  to  milk  and  fatten  them,  and  to  make 
both  butter  and  cheese. 

In  a  word,  I  gave  them  every  part  of  my  own  story,  and  I 

[366] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

told  them  I  would  prevail  with  the  captain  to  leave  them  two 
barrels  of  gunpowder  more,  and  some  garden  seeds,  which  I 
told  them  I  would  have  been  very  glad  of.  Also  I  gave  them 
the  bag  of  peas  which  the  captain  had  brought  me  to  eat,  and 
bade  them  be  sure  to  sow  and  increase  them. 

Having  done  all  this,  I  left  them  the  next  day,  and  went  on 
board  the  ship.  We  prepared  immediately  to  sail,  but  did  not 
weigh  that  night.  The  next  morning  early  two  of  the  five 
men  came  swimming  to  the  ship's  side,  and  making  a  most  la- 
mentable complaint  of  the  other  three,  begged  to  be  taken  into 
the  ship  for  God's  sake,  for  they  should  be  murdered,  and 
begged  the  captain  to  take  them  on  board,  though  he  hanged 
them  immediately. 

Upon  this,  the  captain  pretended  to  have  no  power  with- 
out me ;  but  after  some  difficulty,  and  after  their  solemn  prom- 
ises of  amendment,  they  were  taken  on  board,  and  were  some 
time  after  soundly  whipped  and  pickled,  after  which  they 
proved  very  honest  and  quiet  fellows. 

Some  time  after  this  the  boat  was  ordered  on  shore,  the  tide 
being  up,  with  the  things  promised  to  the  men,  to  which  the 
captain,  at  my  intercession,  caused  their  chests  and  clothes  to 
be  added,  which  they  took,  and  were  very  thankful  for.  I  also 
encouraged  them  by  telling  them  that  if  it  lay  in  my  way  to 
send  any  vessel  to  take  them  in,  I  would  not  forget  them. 

When  I  took  leave  of  this  island,  I  carried  on  board,  for 
relics,  the  great  goat-skin  cap  I  had  made,  my  umbrella,  and 
my  parrot ;  also  I  forgot  not  to  take  the  money  I  formerly  men- 
tioned, which  had  lain  by  me  so  long  useless  that  it  was  grown 

[367] 


ROBINSON    CRUSOE 

rusty  or  tarnished,  and  could  hardly  pass  for  silver  till  it  had 
been  a  little  rubbed  and  handled ;  as  also  the  money  I  found  in 
the  wreck  of  the  Spanish  ship. 

And  thus  I  left  the  island,  the  19th  of  December,  as  I  found 
by  the  ship's  account,  in  the  year  1686,  after  I  had  been  upon 
it  eight  and  twenty  years,  two  months,  and  nineteen  days,  being 
delivered  from  this  second  captivity  the  same  day  of  the  month 
that  I  first  made  my  escape  in  the  barco-longo,  from  among 
the  Moors  of  Sallee. 

In  this  vessel,  after  a  long  voyage,  I  arrived  in  England, 
the  11th  of  June,  in  the  year  1687,  having  been  thirty  and  five 
years  absent. 


[368] 


TT    &£ 


